As of September 2014, Microsoft has over 527,000 Metro-Style apps in both the Windows Store and Windows Phone store, and of these applications, approximately 340,000 are designed for Windows Phone devices. Compare this number to the 1.3 million apps in the Apple app store, or the 1.3 million apps in the Google Play Store, and Windows Phone devices begin to seem very limited.

While the apps situation has improved significantly in the Windows Phone ecosystem over the last year or so, the lack of app support is a strong deterrent for the average consumer and in turn, also to developers who are considering creating or porting over existing apps to Windows devices. Many popular applications have only just recently come to Windows Phone devices in the last year.

Software like Bluestacks, a free program allowing Windows and Mac users to run Android applications, already exists, so bringing Android apps to Windows in an official capacity is likely very possible. Although the application does have limitations related to Android’s native ARM code and the common x86 chips powering Windows computers and devices, experts feel there are likely a number of workarounds for this technical problem.

BlackBerry tried a similar approach to expanding their platform’s struggling app ecosystem by bringing Android applications to their platform, but ended up seeing mixed results, with many apps crashing or not working.

But with Microsoft currently only controlling roughly 2.7 per cent of the smartphone market, the company needs to take drastic measures to win back customer support. The benefit of bringing Android apps to Windows phone devices could be significant, fleshing out Microsoft’s mobile ecosystem and also preventing current users from abandoning Microsoft’s operating system, as well as potentially attracting new Windows Phone users.

Windows 10 is also rumoured to be the first step towards the company creating a unified, single operating system and app store. The popular start menu from past Windows operating systems is also set to make a return.

Reports that Microsoft was experimenting with plans to bring Android apps to Windows devices surfaced around this time last year. Microsoft is set to hold a press conference on Jan. 21 in which the company is expected to reveal Windows 10.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/android-apps-could-be-coming-to-windows-phone-devices/feed0MicrosoftpatrickorourkeFall Android smartphone review round-up: Moto X, LG G3, Galaxy Alpha, HTC One M8, HTC Desire 510http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/fall-android-smartphone-review-round-up-moto-x-lg-g3-galaxy-alpha-htc-one-m8-htc-desire-510
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/fall-android-smartphone-review-round-up-moto-x-lg-g3-galaxy-alpha-htc-one-m8-htc-desire-510#commentsFri, 14 Nov 2014 20:39:40 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=544367]]>It’s the special time of year when every smartphone manufacturer is releasing a new flagship device leading up to the holiday shopping season.

What’s different about this year is each company seems to have a relatively solid flagship offering. Android devices have caught up with Apple both in terms of build quality and power, especially when it comes to high-end devices. So with so many Android smartphones that in some cases look almost identical, which one should you shell out hundreds of dollars for?

Below are the various Android smartphones, mostly of the high-end variety, that I’ve been able to get my hands on over the last few months.

Which on will come out on top?

Motorola’s Moto X improves on last year’s smartphone

7/10

Every smartphone manufacturer seems to have a decent flagship device available this holiday season and Motrola’s Moto X is no exception. Unfortunately its camera is still less than stellar and the smartphone’s battery life is merely average. These were both major issues with the first-generation Moto X.

The smartphone essentially builds on everything Motorola stared with last year’s Moto X, only with a larger screen (4.7-inches to 5.2-inches), a new aluminum frame and full 1080p HD screen resolution.

Unfortunately if you aren’t buying the Moto X on a plan, it’s rather expensive, running at about $499.99 outright with most carriers.

LG G3 is amazing but expensive

The LG G3 is one of the best Android smartphones out right now, rivaled only by the HTC One (M8). Patrick O’Rourke/Postmedia

LG G3
Manufacturer: LG
Release Date: August 1st, 2014

8/10

My favourite thing about the LG G3 is its build quality. The phone feels solid and looks great thanks to its brushed metal body and unique off switch located on the back of the smartphone (which is unusual when it comes to Android smartphones).

The smartphone’s QuadHD screen, which packs four times the pixels of a 720p display, also looks amazing. Its 5.5-inch display might borderline on being too large for some users, but I still found it fit into my pocket easily. It’s also a powerful smartphone, boasting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (and 3 GBs of RAM if you purchase the 32 GB version).

This means it’ll be able to multitask and play high-end modern Android games with relative ease. Unfortunately all this power comes at a premium since the phone costs a scary $699.99 not on a plan.

Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha looks like an iPhone

Galaxy Alpha
Manufacturer: Samsung
Release Date: Mid August 2014

5/10

The Galaxy Alpha has obviously been designed to be Samsung’s big smartphone for this holiday season and its sights are directly aimed at Apple’s iPhone 6. So how does it stack up to the competition?

The Alpha’s body feels solid and if you showed this smartphone to someone who doesn’t know very much about technology, they’d likely assume it was an iPhone 4, at least at first glance. My favourite thing about the Galaxy Alpha is its small screen size, coming in at just 4.7-inches, which is tiny when compared to today’s often comically gigantic smartphones.

Unfortunately it also has a number of downsides. The Alpha’s battery life is underwhelming and perhaps most importantly, it only features a 720p display. At $699 not on a plan, I expected the smartphone to feature a top-tier display rivaling the LG G3, HTC One M8’s or almost any other Android device in its price range.

Maybe if the Galaxy Alpha was slightly cheaper it would be much easier to recommend, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. You can get a much better smartphone at this price point.

The HTC One M8 is a great looking smartphone

The HTC One M8’s brushed metal unibody feels great in your hands. Handout/HTC

HTC One M8
Manufacturer: HTC
Release Date: Mid May 2014

8.5/10

The best thing about the HTC One M8 is how great the smartphone feels in your hands. Its brushed metal body gives the Android smartphone a high-quality iPhone-like feel to it and it also packs a decent hardware punch, with a 1920 by 1080 full HD resolution screen, 2 GBs of ram and the ability to expand the smartphone’s internal storage via a micro-SD card, a rarity when it comes to smartphones lately.

The smartphone also features the same powerful Qualcomm 801 Snapdragon processor as the LG G3. In fact, both the HTC One M8 share a number of great features.

In terms of downsides, the HTC One M8’s camera is less than stellar, especially in low-light situations (the same can be said for almost all of HTC’s smartphones).

It also comes at a hefty price tag, $699.99. But this is a premium phone with a premium price tag, so shelling out this amount of money should be expected. As an all around high-end Android smartphone though, it’s hard to go wrong with HTC’s successor to last year’s HTC One. Although it’s important to point out a new version of the phone is likely coming out soon).

HTC Desire 510 is solid and durable, but definitely not high-end

The HTC Desire 510 is a decent budget smartphone, but most people might be better off picking up the Nexus 5. Patrick O’Rourke/Postmedia

HTC Desire 510
Manufacturer: HTC
Release Date: September 30th, 2014

7/10

Unlike most people, I’m a fan of smartphones with rubberized backs and bodies. It makes the phone more durable and if I owned a Desire 510 I probably wouldn’t even put a case on it. Some people might find its body cheap feeling but it’s important to keep in mind the Desire 510 isn’t what you should consider a high-end smartphone.

The Desire 510 comes with a 854 x 480 4.7-inch screen that isn’t quite considered high-definition, and an already outdated quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, as well as 1 GB of RAMand an external micro SD card slot. It also supports LTE connectivity, a rarity when it comes to most budget smartphones.

What’s most appealing about this phone is its $200 outright price (with Telus, Rogers and Fido), which is a great price tag considering the high cost of most smartphones. If you set your expectations appropriately, the HTC Desire 510 is a decent device, designed to compete directly with the Moto G and Samsung’s Galaxy Core LTE, two other budget Android smartphones.

Still, most people would be better off purchasing the much more powerful Nexus 5 for $100 more. It’s a more powerful device for just a little more money.

Sony’s Xperia Z3 is the definition of an all-rounder

8/10

I’ve never used a Sony smartphone before so I was interested to get my hands on both the Xperia Z3 (5.3-inch screen) and its smaller cousin, the Xperia Z3 compact (4.6-inch screen and a slightly smaller battery). It’s great Sony is giving consumers an option when it comes to the Xperia’s size since large smartphones have become so common lately. Just like the Galaxy Alpha, the Xperia Z3 mimics the look of older generation iPhones, although the regular sized Z3 could be mistaken for an iPhone 6. It also sports a full HD 1920 by 1080 display.

The biggest draw for me with this smartphone is its excellent battery thanks to the 3,100 mAh battery it comes equipped with (only in the 5.3-inch version). It also rocks the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor as other high-end smartphones like the LG G3 and HTC One M8. This means it multi-tasks, plays high-end games and generally perform most tasks with very little lag.

If you own a PlayStation 4, you’ll also be able to play PS4 games remotely on your Z3, although touch screens aren’t exactly designed to accommodate the number of buttons on the Dualshock 4 gamepad.

While the build of the smartphone will likely be appealing to most, I still prefer the HTC One M8 and the LG G3’s brushed metal body’s. The Xperia also has a premium $699.99 unlocked price tag.

It’s an expensive smartphone sandwich. Patrick O’Rourke/Postmedia

Note: The Nexus 6 isn’t included on this list because I haven’t got my hands on it yet. When I do, I’ll be putting together a full review of the smartphone.

Despite having a much smaller development budget, EA just couldn’t keep up with 2K’s innovations and their expertise at striking a balance between simulation and arcade gameplay. NHL 2K2, the last game released for the Dreamcast in North America, is still my favourite hockey video game ever.

But it’s 2014 now and the last real 2K Sports hockey game was released back in 2009 as a budget-priced title. This is the same year EA’s NHL franchise launched it’s popular Be A Pro mode, allowing players take control of just one hockey player rather than a full team, both online and in a single player.

Now the NHL 2K series is making a come back on iOS and Android devices with NHL 2K. So has 2k’s once popular hockey franchise made a miraculous comeback on a new, portable platform?

The short answer is no.

At first glance NHL 2K is impressive. It features many gameplay modes people have come to expect from EA’s console NHL franchise like Quick Game, My Career (a more simplistic version of EA’s Be a Pro), Multiplayer, a Free Skate Practice mode and numerous other features. Almost amusingly some of these actually didn’t make the jump to the current-generation version of EA’s NHL 15.

The game’s presentation is also impressive and features a clean, easy to navigate menu system, replays and the same broadcast overlays you’d see in a console hockey video game.

NHL 2K’s menu is slick and responsive. 2K

But this is where the good stuff stops. In terms of gameplay, NHL 2K feels nothing like previous entries in the franchise and instead resembles NHL 99 on the Nintendo 64, a horrible hockey game, even for its time, released 17 years ago.

Since the game is now on iOS and Android, it’s understandable NHL 2K isn’t up to par with console hockey titles. I went into NHL 2K with low expectations and unfortunately even while keeping this in mind, it just isn’t a very good hockey video game.

NHL 2K’s AI rarely knows what’s going on and frequently over-skates the puck and shots are far too hard to aim. Passes are also difficult to pin-point and many integral control elements of most hockey games, like shot-blocking, pinning and a comprehensive dekeing system, have been stripped from NHL 2K.

Parts of NHL 2K’s presentation are impressive. Unfortunately the same things can’t be said about the game’s gameplay. 2K

Puck physics are also often wonky and while NHL 2K’s on-ice action is fast, most games devolve into a back-and-forth battle of repeated offensive rushes. I was rarely able to set up in the offensive zone and cycle the puck, an integral part of hockey.

Checking and poke-checking are also mapped to the same button. This means landing a check is performed by ensuring your player is moving at a fast speed, at least in theory. In practice this rarely works and poke-checks and checks just seem to randomly happen. This makes playing a defensive game in NHL 2K almost impossible and comes down to luck.

NHL 2K also suffers from the same issue many Android and iOS games have, the lack of a tactile, traditional controller. My finger frequently slipped off the game’s virtual joystick or I’d accidentally press the shoot button instead of pass.

A “one touch” alternative control scheme is available but tapping a touchscreen to select players, shoot and pass the puck, is confusing and frustrating. However, NHL 2K is compatible with Android-enabled gamepads (I was unable to try this control method).

NHL 2K’s gameplay is disappointing and feels like a painful blast from the past. 2K

Additionally, NHL 2K’s visuals are also disappointing, even when compared to other iOS and Android games. Pulling things back to the horrible game NHL 99, graphically NHL 2K also reminded me of that particular hockey game’s terrible graphics. Players are blocky, feature identical faces and textures are low-resolution.

NHL 2K isn’t on par with the iOS version of Bioshock, that’s for sure.

3/10

If you’ve been waiting to play a hockey video game on the go, then NHL 2K might be worth your time. If you’re hoping for a game that recreates an experience close to or on par with a console hockey video game, then you’ll be disappointed with NHL 2K.

Playing NHL 2K is almost like stepping into a time machine. Hockey video games have come a long way since 1999 and NHL 2K just isn’t good enough, even as a mobile game.

NHL 2K is available on iOS and Android devices and was released on Oct. 23, 2014. For this review I played NHL 2K on a first-generation iPad Mini.

I’ve tested out every variety of noise cancelling headphones that Bose has manufactured over the years, but I really didn’t know the history behind these headphones until a recent visit to New York to attend the celebration of Bose’s 50 years in business.

The idea for noise cancellation headphones came straight from Dr. Bose, the founder of the company. On a flight from Switzerland to the USA in the late seventies, Dr. Bose was thrilled to hear that Swissair were the first airline to provide customers with electronic earphones.

Up to then, the “earphones” airlines provided were plastic tubes with little cups you stuck into your ears. I’m old enough to remember them and I still remember that it was like listening to music played inside a tin can – but it was better than nothing.

When Dr. Bose tried the new electric earphones out, he found the music was better but that there was so much ambient noise on the airplane that it was very difficult to hear music. Being a professor at MIT, by the time his plane landed in the USA he had the basic mathematical formula written out to produce noise cancelling headphones.

The first set were designed for use by the Voyager crew, who were the first to fly a propeller driven plane around the world – doctors had told them that the constant noise from the propellers would damage their hearing, so Bose gave them noise cancellation headsets to use.

Retailing in Canada for $329.99, the new Bose QuietComfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones are the best ones yet from Bose.

The noise cancellation is first rate; I’ve worn them in some pretty noisy environments and I can attest to the silence. The design is a bit more modern that the QC15s they replace, the noise reduction is better and the new fit of the headband and the earcups makes for a more comfortable listening experience. Available in black and white, it a;so marks the departure from the metal and black of previous QuietComfort headphones.

The QC25s are over-ear headphones that are 19.1cm H x 15.2cm W x 2.3cm D and they weigh only 195.6 grams. They come with their own carrying case and a 1.4m cable. For power, they use a single AAA battery which is provided, and the case has a little spot in it to tuck a spare battery away.

The QC25s are completely redesigned with higher quality materials and finishes. The headband is closer to the top of your bean for a more comfortable fit, and the earcups rotate now, so you can get a better fit than ever before.

The sound is the thing with QuietComfort 25s. It’s crisp, clean and resonant, with crystal clear highs and mids, and deep, beautiful bass. I prefer a more bassy sound and these headphones deliver in spades.

Bose has even reduced the issue of users figuring out which earcup goes over each ear – the pad on the inside has a great big ‘L’ or ‘R’ on it.

The carry case is a lot smaller than previous versions of the QuietComfort headphones, because of the new hinges to allow the earcups to be fold up more. In my view, a smaller carrying case is a definite advantage – it makes them easier to pack in carry-on luggage.

According to Bose, the QuietComfort 25 headphones “feature audio advancements to reproduce music with improved clarity and accuracy. A more finely tuned active EQ delivers a demonstrably smoother frequency response across the full spectrum of sound.”

There’s little of the ‘hiss’ that pretty well all noise cancelling headphones have when there’s no sound coming through the speakers, and the whole experience of wearing these headphones is to shut you out from a noisy world to let you enjoy your music which is reproduced as accurately as possible. That’s a pretty high goal to aim for and the folks at Bose have put three decades of noise cancellation research to use in these new QuietComfort 25 headphones to accomplish that goal.

If you’re a traveller, then these are the best noise cancellation headphones on the market.

PROS: Amazing noise cancellation; great fit and finish, new design folds up much smaller than ever before; crystal clear and resonant sound.

CONS:Expensive; It’d be great if they were Bluetooth so we could lose the cable.

TO SUM IT UP: If you’re in the market for a good set of over ear noise cancelling headphones, then look no further than the Bose QuietComfort 25 Noise Cancellation Headphones. They’re good value for the price, offer terrific sound quality and noise cancellation and are comfortable enough to wear for those long flights.

As usual, internet rumours claim to know almost everything about the phone before it’s even been announced. The Nexus X’s technical specifications are supposedly as follows:

5.92-inch display

2560 x 1440 resolution, 498 ppi

Snapdragon 805 processor

3 GB of RAM

A model with 32 GB of storage

3,200 mAh battery

13 MP rear camera, 4K UHD video capable

2 MP front-facing camera

The Nexus X’s much bigger, 5.92-inch display makes it about an inch larger than the Nexus 5’s screen and has the smartphone’s display size edging into phablet territory. This means the Nexus’ display is even larger than the iPhone 6 Plus’ 5.5-inch screen, which could frustrate users who actually like to fit their cell phone in their front pocket.

Google’s Nexus X is also expected to look a lot like Motorola’s flagship phone, the Moto X, only slightly larger and with volume and power buttons that have been shifted down the phone’s body. Since the Moto X is widely regarded as one of the top Android smartphones on the market right now, the Nexus X sharing similarities with Motorola’s flagship phone is definitely not a bad thing.

Could the Nexus X be almost identical to the Moto X 2nd generation? Scott Eells/Bloomberg

The smartphone is also sometimes referred to as the Nexus 6, but over the last few months rumours have shifted to indicate Google will drop the number beside its flagship Nexus phone with this upcoming Motorola iteration.

In terms of release date, the Nexus One was released in Jan, 2010, the Nexus S was released in Dec. 2010, the Galaxy Nexus was released in Nov. of 2011, the Nexus 4 was released on Nov. 12 and the Nexus 5 was released in Oct of 2013. If history is set to repeat itself, and it often does when it comes to smartphone release dates, the Nexus X will likely be released sometime in October or early November.

If it doesn’t, the Nexus X will definitely be released before the end of Q4 2014. This means we should be able to get our hands on Google’s next flagship smartphone before the end of the holiday season.

Rumours have circulated for a while that the Nexus brand would be killed off in favour of Google’s upcoming Android Silver line of smartphones, a program that encourages manufacturers to build high-quality phones featuring a basic version of the Android operating system, giving users a more pure Android experience.

While Google’s Android Silver line will still launch in Feb. 2015 with an LG device leading the first wave of smartphones, the company also still seems to have plans to continue its Nexus line.

The Nexus X will likely be the first smartphone to launch with Android L, also known as Lollipop, although some experts think Android L might be named after a different desert delicacy, Lemon Meringue Pie.

The smartphone is also expected to interact closely with Google’s also still unannounced Nexus Gem smartwatch and that both the smartwatch and the Nexus X will be released at the same time and interact together in some way.

In terms of price, things are still unclear. Some rumours indicate the Nexus X could cost somewhere between the $350 to $400 range, which means it’ll have a price tag very similar to the Nexus 5’s.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/nexus-x-everything-we-know-about-googles-next-flagship-smartphone/feed0nexus xpatrickorourkeGoogles Motorola Unveils Moto X Phone in Bid to Revive Businessnexus xGoogle Play Music’s best feature is the ability to upload 20,000 songs for freehttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-play-musics-best-feature-is-the-ability-to-upload-20000-songs-for-free
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-play-musics-best-feature-is-the-ability-to-upload-20000-songs-for-free#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 16:58:19 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=520983]]>As the battle for streaming music platform supremacy continues, it’s still difficult to determine which service is actually the best on the market right now, with Rdio, Spotify and Google Play Music all vying for streaming music domination.

Rdio has the beautiful interface and a user-curated experience, Spotify has brand recognition and Google Play Music, one of the newer platforms, has the power of Google’s ecosystem behind it.

With each service being nearly identical, it’s hard to recommend one over the other. However, one feature sets Google Play Music apart from the pack – the ability to upload 20,000 songs from your own music collection to the cloud, allowing you to listen to your music library from almost anywhere and on a variety of devices.

The process involved with adding these songs is also very simple. All users need to do is navigate to Google Play Music’s website, log in, click my library and then select add music. You then need to locate the folder your music is stored in. If you’re an iTunes user, your music is likely located in “Music” or “My Music” and then in a folder called “iTunes”. Once you’ve located your music library Google Play Music then automatically scans and uploads it, all while matching your content with Google Play Music’s streaming library.

Google Play Music’s library upload feature might be its best kept secret. Screenshot

Depending on how many songs you have and your internet connection’s upload speed, this process can sometimes take multiple hours. Adding your library of music to Google Play Music also ensures your music is accessible from one application on your computer, Google Play Music, removing the need to ever use Apple’s horrible iTunes music management program (you know it’s awful, admit it).

The matching system is far from perfect and it occasionally creates weird unintentional compilations. For example, my greatest hits collection Blink 182 CD was mixed with Ice Cube’s greatest hits and to top things off, the album art for this collection was matched with Notorious B.I.G. The occasional The Offspring song was thrown in for some reason as well.

Google’s music service does have a few drawbacks, though. Google Play Music’s menu system is even less intuitive than Spotify’s already cumbersome user-interface, and doesn’t even come close to matching Rdio’s elegant UI. Access to Google Play Music’s massive library of streaming songs is also limited to paid subscribers and a subscription currently costs $9.99 a month.

Google does offer a free month that lets you test the service out. Competing platforms like Rdio and Spotify have free components allowing users to stream music even if they aren’t paying subscribers, but with certain limitations and advertisements.

In general, Google Play Music’s upload library feature works flawlessly. It has allowed me to upload my roughly 25 GB collection of music I’ve amassed over the last 15 years or so, directly to Google Play Music. This means I can listen to my collection of music anywhere, either through my Mac or PC, and even through my Android smartphone’s Google Play Music app. For offline listening you can also download CDs locally to your computer or smartphone, a feature I’ve taken advantage of so I can still listen to certain CD’s while on the subway.

Spotify also offers a similar music matching library feature, but any song added from your library also needs to be part of Spotify’s streaming library, otherwise it can’t be added. Rdio also offers a similar library matching feature that seems to work almost identically to Spotify’s.

Google Play Music takes a different approach and each of your songs is actually uploaded to Google’s cloud servers. Even if the song you’re uploading isn’t currently available on Google Play Music, you’ll still be able to play it. This is one of the main features that sets Google Play Music’s library feature apart from competing platforms.

If you’re streaming music via your data connection, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of your monthly data plan limit, because streaming music tends to use a significant amount of bandwidth and it’s very easy to go over this limit.

Apple offers a similar service called iTunes Match that costs $24.99 a year for 25,000 songs. If you’re a Google Play All-Access subscriber, users are able to upload more than 20,000 songs to the service, but it’s unclear how many more.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-play-musics-best-feature-is-the-ability-to-upload-20000-songs-for-free/feed2google play musicpatrickorourkegoogle play musicgoogle play musicAndroid’s biggest problem is operating system fragmentationhttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/androids-biggest-problem-is-operating-system-segmentation
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/androids-biggest-problem-is-operating-system-segmentation#commentsMon, 15 Sep 2014 18:37:01 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=514090]]>As Apple continues to position itself as a premium, high-quality, but also very expensive brand, especially when it comes to the company’s upcoming iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Android devices are becoming a more viable option for smartphone users on a budget.

While Google’s Android operating system has significant advantages over iOS devices, mainly in terms of how open the platform is, the OS still has a number of drawbacks that will frustrate even people who aren’t interested in owning the latest greatest high-end smartphone.

When you purchase an iOS device, regardless of whether it’s an iPhone or iPad, you’re basically guaranteed the product will be supported by updates to Apple’s iOS platform for about the next three years. With Android, depending on what smartphone you purchase, you could be unable to install the latest version of Android just a few months after you purchased your fancy new smartphone, rendering it obsolete.

Only 24 per-cent of Android users have access and are using the smartphones latest operating system. Handout/Android

This is because apart from Google’s Nexus line of smartphones and tablets, built with cooperation from LG and now likely Motorola, the company doesn’t play a role on the hardware side of the smartphone equation. Unlike Apple, Google is solely a smartphone software creator.

This means it’s often up to the smartphone’s manufacturer when it comes to deciding which phone models have access to the latest Android update, whether it be Samsung, Sony, Asus, Amazon, or various other companies.

On top of this, some smartphone carriers, like Rogers, Bell and Telus, sometimes block or delay updates from making their way to specific Android phone models, in order to try to encourage their customers to buy a newer smartphone to be able to access to the latest version of Android. The world of Android is filled with smartphones incompatible with more recent versions of Google’s operating system.

According to Google’s latest statistics, only 24.5 per cent of Android owners are using KitKat, the company’s latest operating system. There are a variety of reasons for this, including that many people’s Android smartphones might not be powerful enough to run the latest operating system – but the issue mainly comes down to a lack of access to KitKat.

OS adoption data taken during the week leading up to Dec. 1. Screenshot/Apple

While the Apple hasn’t released statistics in a little under a year, last December the company revealed 74 per cent of Apple users are running iOS 7, the company’s latest version of iOS. There’s a significant difference between the number of people using Android’s KitKat and those on Apple’s iOS 7, and this is one of the biggest issues facing Google’s operating system.

Approximately 75 per cent of Android users aren’t using the platform’s latest operating system. This means they won’t have access to the newest Android OS and also won’t be able to run more recent apps that are only compatible with recent versions of Android.

This becomes even more of an issue with lower-end budget Android phones carriers often sell at discounted rates, which are frequently locked to increasingly old versions of Android’s operating system.

Android operating system segmentation even changes the way developers create apps, limiting their audience and playing to the lowest common denominator when deciding how powerful a smartphone needs to be in order to run the application they’re creating.

Many Android smartphone manufacturers also “skin” Google’s operating system, adding their own features, look and permanently installed apps to the platform. Some of these features are often great and very useful. For example the multi-tasking ability Samsung added to Android is useful, but other features are frustrating and only complicate the Android experience, often slowing down the user’s smartphone to a crawl.

If you’ve purchased a bloatware-filled phone or tablet, the only way around this issue it to hack the Android device by “rooting” it. People who root their Android devices often install custom operating systems like Cyanogen Mod, although the process of installing a custom OS and rooting an Android device is complicated and varies between smartphone manufacturers and operating systems.

Purchasing a Nexus or an upcoming Google Silver branded smartphone from another manufacturer, is really the only way to avoid this issue. These “vanilla Android devices” remove the burden of having to worry about whether or not Google will push its latest update out to your Android smartphone, but this issue is something many Android users likely aren’t aware of.

The same can be said about Google’s Android marketplace and the company’s open nature to policing its app store. Almost anything can make it to the Google Play Store, regardless of how poorly the app operates and whether or not it drains your smartphone’s precious battery life and data.

The HTC One is an example of a higher-end Android smartphone. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

There are a variety of great Android apps, some exclusive to the platform, but there is also a wash of horrible applications that don’t work very well, and because of how Google positions Android, they don’t have to do anything about this and actually can’t, given Android is an open operating system.

In Apple world, the company approves every single application before it’s released on the iOS App store. This means that at the very least Apple users know the app they’re downloading won’t ruin their experience with the iPhone or iPad. On the downside, a more closed approach to managing apps also means popular Android applications like emulators won’t get released on Apple devices, so there are a few drawbacks to Apple’s gated technology.

Android devices are great and build-quality, one of the deciding factors between Android and iOS for years, is slowly becoming less of an issue as higher-end premium Android devices like the HTC One M8 are released. But in many ways Android’s biggest enemy is actually itself.

There’s also no clear solution to this issue given the open nature of Google’s Android operating system and this is far from a new problem, segmentation has been the main issue holding Android back since it was launched back in 2008.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/androids-biggest-problem-is-operating-system-segmentation/feed2GooglepatrickorourkeandroidiOS 7Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, discusses the camera features on the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, Calif. AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezHTC OneVIDEO: Samsung laughs at new iPhone 6 and watchhttp://o.canada.com/technology/video-samsung-laughs-at-new-iphone-6-and-watch
http://o.canada.com/technology/video-samsung-laughs-at-new-iphone-6-and-watch#commentsThu, 11 Sep 2014 14:20:35 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=512294]]>In the 1970s and 80s they had the cola wars; 30 years later, the smartphone wars are heating up.

Apple released its new line of iPhone 6 devices to much anticipation this week, only to be derided for copying rival manufacturer Samsung. Many of the iPhone’s new features are already available on many Android devices and Apple’s new watch is a gold-plated version of Samsung’s much cheaper existing product.

Samsung has already gobbled a chunk of Apple’s market share, and has been targeting its increasingly unimaginative competitor in funny ads. But this week Samsung has taken the rivalry to a whole new place, launching Thursday online six ads that mock almost all of the new iPhone 6 features and comparing them to its existing Samsung Note.

Watch the parodied Apple “geniuses” cope with the news their company’s latest and greatest innovation is a bigger screen:

Or mock the watch

Or deal with Apple’s spotty livestream of its marquee event:

Or get tangled up waiting for iPhones and iPads to charge

Or try to multitask on Apple devices:

Or draw without the pen the Note offers:

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/video-samsung-laughs-at-new-iphone-6-and-watch/feed1Samsung-adashleycsanadyFlappy Bird is back with two-player multiplayer as Flappy Birds Familyhttp://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-back-with-two-player-multiplayer-as-flappy-birds-family
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-back-with-two-player-multiplayer-as-flappy-birds-family#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 20:42:14 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=493732]]>Dong Nguyen and his studio .Gear, the illusive creator of Flappy Bird, has made good on his promise to bring his incredibly popular and heavily criticized mobile game back as Flappy Bird Family, a new version of the game featuring a two-player multiplayer mode.

Flappy Bird Family is relaunching exclusively on the Amazon Appstore and is playable on the U.S.-only Amazon Fire TV gaming/streaming console. As well as multiplayer, the game also features new obstacles and ghosts. The game allows two players to play Flappy Bird at the same time if you happen to own two Amazon Fire controllers, both sold separately. The game is also apparently compatible with the Fire TV’s regular remote.

Flappy Birds now are on Amazon Fire TV with incredible new features: Person vs Person mode, more obstacles, more fun and still very hard. “Enjoy playing the game at home (not breaking your TV) with your family and friends,” reads the game’s description.

Flappy Bird family includes a new multiplayer mode.

Nguyen reportedly made tens of thousands of dollars off of Flappy Bird – reportedly about $50,000 a day – through ads in just a few short weeks after the game made it to the top of Google’s Android Playstore and the iOS app Store. He eventually pulled the game from app stores back in February because he felt it was too addictive.

This reportedly caused him mental anguish and in numerous interviews Nguyen discussed his hate for all the media attention Flappy Bird received at the time. The game was also critized for ripping off the art and gameplay of similar mobile titles.

“I missed out on all the hoopla the first time around and thus, undoubtedly, had a much more productive summer than most, but now that it’s available again, I’ll just tell my wife and kids that daddy has to go to the bathroom and not return for three hours. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-back-with-two-player-multiplayer-as-flappy-birds-family/feed1Flappy Bird Familypatrickorourkeflappy birdPopular apps are needlessly complicating the user experiencehttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/multiple-apps-complicates-the-user-experience-swarm-facebook-messenger-and-bolt
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/multiple-apps-complicates-the-user-experience-swarm-facebook-messenger-and-bolt#commentsMon, 28 Jul 2014 21:00:14 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=491564]]>How many social media apps does one person really have the time to use?

I consistently try to stick to three social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Each app serves a specific purpose when it comes to my daily internet/social media activities.

I use Twitter almost like an RSS feed to keep up to date with news and to share my own content. Facebook has become a chat platform that lets me stay in touch with family and friends (and to count the children people I went to high school now have). On the photo side of things, Instagram is my primary picture sharing service. Social media aggregator Hootsuite combines these three platforms into one simple, easy to read feed.

Twitter is still my primary social media platform. Twitter

When it comes to apps like Vine and Flickr, I log into them about once a month, but other than that I try to keep things simple. I don’t want to, and don’t have time to, use other apps, especially ones that spin-off features included in the developer’s original, core application, an increasingly common strategy that just doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Soon Facebook will be forcing Android and iOS users to use Facebook Messenger, a separate Facebook-developed application focused on messaging. Facebook sent an email to users on Monday letting them know that messages will disappear from Facebook’s mobile applications. Facebook says they’re making this shift so messages will be received “about 20 percent faster.”

The change also will likely make things 20 per cent more complicated for most users

Facebook has been nudging people through notifications to adopt their new messenger app but now they’re outright forcing them to download it if they want to continue using Facebook’s messaging service. Naturally people aren’t very happy about this.

I don't want to download Facebook messenger. People better send up a smoke signal or something.

This isn’t the first time a company has forced its users to download an application. Popular former check-in application Foursquare launched a spin-off new app called Swarm in May. Swarm is solely focused on check-ins while Foursquare has become a Yelp-like local discovery app, leading to mass confusion among Foursquare’s user base who primarily used the app as a real-world check-in game.

During a recent ReadWriteWeb event in San Francisco, Foursquare’s CEO Dennis Crowley explained most people only use Foursquare for either checking-in or discovering a new store, restaurant or business. According to him, few users actually use the app for both purposes.

So why did Foursquare need to create a separate app when the original Foursquare application served both of these purposes perfectly fine? Months after its release, Swarm reportedly still feels haphazard and disjointed and tips, a popular Foursquare feature, are still confined to the original Foursquare application. The company does have plans to improve Swarm’s experience by adding stickers and badges, features already part of Foursquare.

Similar to when Facebook made the announcement they were forcing users to download Facebook Messenger if they still wanted to send messages to their friends, long-time Foursquare users turned to Twitter to express their outrage.

Also, why did #Foursquare create a separate app for check-ins? I thought check-ins were the whole point of Foursquare. #Swarm

Even Google’s extremely useful suite of applications are failing to make sense. Earlier this year, Google announced that the formerly singular Google Drive app would be divided into separate Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Drive apps. Wouldn’t it make more sense to combine all these platforms into one comprehensive Google services application? You know, like it used to be when Google Drive was first introduced as a mobile application?

Instagram, also now owned by Facebook, just announced yet another Snapchat style disposable image app clone. The company’s first attempt was Slingshot, an image sharing app that required the image receiver to send a picture before being able to view the image sent to them. Apparently it bombed and Facebook is preparing to release an application called Bolt, a new self-destructing image sharing service that seems to be a prettier, likely more user-friendly version of Snapchat.

Right now, the app is only available in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa but the company has plans to release Bolt in more countries in the near future.

Why couldn’t the self-destructing image functionality just be included in Instagram? The app already has a private image sharing feature so it likely would not have been that difficult to include a disposable image sharing system in Instagram.

Creating apps that serve small purposes complicates the already flooded iOS and Google Play app stores and does nothing more than confuse and anger the original app’s dedicated user base.

People use their mobile devices to save time and increase productivity, not so they can spend more time jumping from application to application to accomplish everything they want to do.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/multiple-apps-complicates-the-user-experience-swarm-facebook-messenger-and-bolt/feed3boltpatrickorourketwitterswarmNew rumours suggest Google will continue its Nexus line of smartphoneshttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-rumours-suggest-google-will-continue-its-nexus-line-of-smartphones
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-rumours-suggest-google-will-continue-its-nexus-line-of-smartphones#commentsMon, 28 Jul 2014 18:23:45 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=491442]]>It looks like Google might be continuing its popular Nexus line of smartphones and tablets despite rumours the company’s ‘Android Silver’ program, a new line of Android smartphones from multiple manufacturers designed to create a more unified and ‘pure’ idea of Android hardware and software, might be replacing Nexus smartphones.

A recent report from AndroidPolice suggests that Motorola is working on a new 5.9 inch Google Nexus branded smartphone currently codenamed Shamu. The smartphone’s large screen puts it in the rather gigantic ‘phablet’ smartphone/tablet hybrid category.

The device featured in this Tweet sent out from Google’s official Twitter account is also rumoured to be the Nexus 6.

No other flagship Android phone has exceeded 5.5 inches in size which has caused some to question this rumour. This could mean Google is preparing to launch a smartphone/tablet hybrid as well as a new version of the Nexus 8 (Nexus 9) tablet and its popular bloat-free smartphone, the Nexus 4.

It’s believed that LG will no longer be manufacturing Nexus devices and that Google has reached an agreement with HTC or possibly Motorola. Google is reportedly working with Motorola on an 8.9-inch tablet codenamed Volantis, which adds further fuel to the Google/Motorola partnership rumours. The Volantis is believed to be Google’s Nexus 9 tablet.

The phone’s specific specs and an official announcement still have not been revealed but rumours peg its release date at some time this November. Google’s new line of Nexus smartphones, if they actually exist, are expected to be the first to take advantage of the company’s new overhauled Android operating system dubbed ‘L.’

The last Nexus product released was the LG manufactured Nexus 5. During Google’s annual I/O event last month, the company’s Chief Engineer, Dave Burke, said that people, “will hear more,” from Google’s Nexus line of products.

While the continuation of Google’s Nexus line is good news, it’s very similar to the company’s recently announced ‘Android Silver’ program. Why does Google need to maintain two flagship smartphone programs which such similar goals?

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-rumours-suggest-google-will-continue-its-nexus-line-of-smartphones/feed4Nexus 4patrickorourkeRunpee tells you when it’s safe to urinate during a moviehttp://o.canada.com/technology/internet/runpee-tells-you-when-its-safe-to-unrinate-during-a-movie
http://o.canada.com/technology/internet/runpee-tells-you-when-its-safe-to-unrinate-during-a-movie#respondThu, 03 Jul 2014 17:48:34 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=478586]]>People with small bladders have probably encountered this dilemma before. You’re about halfway through a movie and suddenly have to go to the bathroom. Do you hold it, hoping to somehow miraculously make it to the end of the film, or run to the bathroom and risk missing a pivotal part of the movie?

Runpee certainly is a strange app.

That’s where the appropriately named app RunPee comes into play. RunPee’s iOS, Android and Windows app (unfortunately it costs $0.99) and website lets users search for the film they’re watching in its database and then gives users the top times to go to the bathroom during the film.

The app also handily tells users if the movie has extra scenes after the credits and comes equipped with a built-in timer that tells you when it’s safe to run to the bathroom. As the safe window for a quick urination break approaches, your smartphone will vibrate slightly, indicating that you’ll soon have an opportune time to go to the bathroom. Runpee also fills you in on what you missed in the movie while you were gone.

Unfortunately if you’re watching a movie on opening night, RunPee won’t work since its creators don’t attend any pre-screenings of films. It also doesn’t seem to work with TV shows.

Runpee originally launched in 2009 as an iOS only app but recently released Android and Windows Phones apps.

Of course if you’re watching the movie at home you could simply press the pause button, but where’s the fun in that?

Are the remixed games any good? The answer is: sort of. They’re basically the 40 plus year old arcade classics with a Denny’s-infused twist. For example, instead of a space ship in Asteroids, players shoot ketchup at asteroids in Hashteroids. It’s silly but it works. restaurant

As cross promotions like this often go, the games are being released to promote Denny’s new “Greatest Hits Remixed” dishes, a new menu that reworks classic American meals.

Atari Interactive, the “new” Atari that recently emerged from bankruptcy hearings, is set to focus more on digital distribution and licensing the 40-year-old Atari label to developers and publishers looking to take advantage of the brand’s recognition. Apparently this includes licencing games to a restruant, a bizarre decision for a company that’s trying to rebuild itself and become relevant again.

Asteroids, Centipede and Break-out were all originally released in arcades and then eventually for the Atari 2600, the most popular video game console of the late 70s and early 80s.

You’d think Denny’s was the first restaurant to venture into creating video games, right? Well you’re wrong. In 2006, Burger King released three games, Big Bumpin, PocketBike Racer and the best of the bunch, Sneak King, a game that tasks the player with sneaking around as Burger King’s mascot while delivering burgers to unsuspecting customers.

Sneak King is so horrible it’s actually amazing in a kind of B movie way.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/dennys-restaurant-chain-releases-three-remixed-retro-atari-video-games/feed0AtaripatrickorourkeSquare Enix Montreal’s Hitman: Sniper brings the best part of the series to mobile deviceshttp://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/square-enix-montreals-hitman-sniper-takes-the-best-part-of-the-franchise-to-mobile-devices
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/square-enix-montreals-hitman-sniper-takes-the-best-part-of-the-franchise-to-mobile-devices#respondWed, 18 Jun 2014 21:39:58 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=468489]]>Hitman: Go was a welcome surprise earlier this year, translating the console Hitman formula to mobile devices in an interesting and creative way not many expected.

Now, a different development team at Square Enix Montreal is following up Hitman: Go with Hitman: Sniper, a free-to-play title reimagining the series in a form more suitable for quick on-the-go play. Each mission tasks Agent 47, the Hitman franchise’s bald, barcode clad main character, with taking out a specific character from a far away vantage point via his trusty Sniper Rifle.

In general, taking a big budget console franchise like Hitman, focused on methodically killing your foes often in large, open-ended worlds and turning it into a smaller mobile game, seems like a strange decision. But for Square Enix Montreal’s development team translating Hitman: Sniper to mobile devices made perfect sense.

“We think Hitman is such a cool brand and 47 is such a cool character that we wanted people to be able to experience it. There was six years on console between Absolution and Blood Money and we were set up to help bring a lot of the Square Enix brands to the mobile space and Hitman was a great place to start,” said Ollie Sykes, creative director at Square Enix-Montreal.

Hitman: Sniper is simple but a lot of fun. Handout/Square Enix Montreal

The general concept of the game stems from Hitman: Absolution’s popular pre-order bonus sniper challenge. Translating this mini-game to mobile devices was apparently a relatively painless experience for Square Enix Montreal.

“The challenges we had really came from the controls and making the graphics kind of ‘sing’ and making sure it really felt like a rich and high quality experience,” said Sykes.

In the game, the player doesn’t actually move their character and timing shots is difficult, especially if you’re trying to complete a mission’s often more difficult side tasks. Zooming in the rifle is performed by pinching the screen and tagging enemies is accomplished by simply tapping on them. If you create a bookmark, you’re able to switch rapidly between multiple enemies. Time can also be slowed down, giving the player ample opportunity to aim that perfect shot. Ensuring you kill your target without other characters seeing you is the best course of action, but in the E3 show floor demo it was very easy to be discovered by NPCs, forcing you to take out guards and innocent bystanders as well as your main target.

Sykes explained finding a way to translate the Hitman formula to mobile devices involved taking one of the best aspects of the franchise and building a concise mobile experience around it, rather than trying to recreate the console Hitman experience on a tablet.

Zooming your sniper rifle is performed by pinching the screen. Handout/Square Enix Montreal

“I think that one of the mistakes a lot of games make when they try to do a triple A game on tablet is they try to make it play like a triple A game. You’ll find that it’s often kind of ill suited for tablet – there’s buttons everywhere and dials. That just doesn’t work in the tablet space. Just like Hitman Go kind of distilled the experience down a little bit, although it was very broad and covered all of Agent 47’s repertoire. What we decided to do was just take one aspect of what he does extremely well and apply that directly to tablet.”

Much of the game is based on logic and small, silly decisions can often result in you failing the mission. Hitman: Sniper is set to ship with two levels consisting of 150 different missions. Playing through the game unlocks new maps and targets as the levels continuously evolve the more the player progresses through the game.

The free-to-play portion of the game involves allowing players the ability to purchase XP boosts and new weapons before unlocking them through playing the game.

What I experienced during my time with Hitman: Sniper at E3 was impressive and the patience required to kill my targets is indicative of the Hitman series’ ideals. Whether or not the game will remain interesting beyond the two levels I played remains to be seen, especially since according to Sykes, all of the game’s missions will revolve around variations of killing a specific enemy.

Hitman: Sniper is coming to iOS devices, both iPhone and iPad, and there are plans to release an Android version at some point. The game is set for a fall release date.

Google’s 2.0 wearable push starts with Gmail’s Android app, adding new categories, travel purchases and Finance, joining the Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums categories that are already available. Users will also now have the ability to pin certain emails to always show up in the top of your inbox and delay emails from arriving (kind of like hitting snooze on your alarm clock.

The changes are also reportedly going to hit iOS and the desktop Gmail application as well. These changes are a precursor for Google’s plans to move apps towards displaying content on full pages and minimizing moving menus and other screen cluttering features.

The minor alterations also all tie into other Google related initiatives like the voice navigation service Google Now, Glass and Google Wear and apparently is internally known as Google 2.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit (L) and Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 are presented during the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 23, 2014.

While relatively simple, small changes like this allow Google to move its suite of apps between smartphones, tablets, desktops and now wearable technology like smartwatches and Glass, with apps across every platforms acting nearly identically.

I’ll start wearing a smartwatch when someone finally creates one that doesn’t look ridiculous and cost an obscene amount of money.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-overhauling-its-apps-to-accommodate-wearable-technology/feed0Google GlasspatrickorourkeSamsung Galaxy GearGoogle’s Chromecast now available in Canada for $39http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/googles-chromecast-is-launching-in-canada-on-march-19th-for-39
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/googles-chromecast-is-launching-in-canada-on-march-19th-for-39#commentsTue, 18 Mar 2014 22:50:41 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=413474]]>Google’s popular HDMI streaming dongle, the Chromecast, is finally available in Canada and sells for $39.

At first the Chromecast will only be sold online on Amazon.ca and Google’s Play Store. The Chromecast originally launched back on July 24, 2013 in the U.S. but until now, wasn’t officially available in Canada, although some retailers did ship the product north of border.

Chromecast currently still only allows users to access Netflix, YouTube and Google Play movies. If you’re browsing the internet on a smartphone, tablet or computer (both Android and iOS), you can also migrate whatever you’re browsing to your TV via Chromecast.

Chromecast allows users to continue streaming content from devices even when they’re in sleep mode, all apparently without significantly draining the battery of the host device.

Still many people interested in a device like the Chomecast probably already own streaming-enabled device like a game console or smart television. Although apps like Plex, Avia and RealPlayer are available on the device.

If you don’t already own a device like this, the Chromecast could be a limited but cost-effective streaming device alternative.

Chomecast is designed to make it easy to stream web content to your television

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/googles-chromecast-is-launching-in-canada-on-march-19th-for-39/feed2Google ChromecastpatrickorourkechromeGoogle unveils special version of Android for Internet-connected smartwatcheshttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-unveils-special-version-of-android-for-internet-connected-smart-watches
Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:02:59 +0000http://postmediacanadadotcom.wordpress.com/?p=413244]]>SAN FRANCISCO — Google has released a new version of its Android software tailored for Internet-connected watches and other devices that can be worn instead of held.

The redesigned Android announced Tuesday is expected to power an array of so-called smartwatches expected to be released later this year.

Google Inc. says Android watches are already being developed by some of the same device makers that sell popular smartphones running on similar software. The group includes Asus, HTC, LG Electronics, Google-owned Motorola and Samsung Electronics, which already sells a smartwatch running on another operating system.

The Android smartwatches may be competing against a widely anticipated smartwatch from iPhone maker Apple Inc. that is expected to be introduced this year. Apple so far hasn’t confirmed any plans for a smartwatch.

The Wren V5 is a beautiful piece of furniture that happens to be a great speaker system

The folks at Wren Sound Systems have a unique product with their new Wren V5 sound system.

The V5 is a very beautiful wireless speaker that’s designed to work with Apple’s AirPlay, Android Play-Fi, or Bluetooth devices.

Many wireless speakers on the market today are Bluetooth, and while Bluetooth is extremely easy to set up and has a very broad base of devices that will work with it, there are some issues with regard to lag, dropped signals and interference from other Bluetooth devices in the area. He model I tested was the AirPlay variant – because I use Mac devices the most and AirPlay is a solid method of wireless transmission.

The Wren V5 comes in bamboo or rosewood real wood finishes

The $459 CAD V5AP (AirPlay) model I tested is, in a word; beautiful. My version came with a natural bamboo finish, and it’s also available in rosewood – no painted plastic here. All three variants of the Wren V5 are priced at $459 CAD

The sound is impressive – as I’ve said many times, I’m not an audiophile – I don’t understand all the nuances of the various levels of sound, but I do know what I like. I like the Wren V5’s clear, crisp sound and there’s just the right amount of ‘bassiness’ for my ear (if there is such a word). To quote the tech specs from Wren, each device has “two 3-inch throw drivers with 4-layer voice coils to handle big power while dissipating heat.

High frequencies are rendered silky and natural by a pair of edge-driven, wide dispersion 19mm soft dome tweeters optimally positioned on the front baffle to create a wide, realistic soundstage that rides high and free above the box“.

The digital amp puts out 50 watts of real power and underneath the bamboo or rosewood veneer, is a solidly constructed cabinet with a 4mm thick silicone base to virtually eliminate any kind of rattling surface buzz when it’s sitting on a cabinet. It contains two 3-inch throw drivers with 4-layer voice coils and two 19mm edge-driven wide dispersion soft dome speakers. I know most of what that means, but basically it’s got lots of oomph and clear, bright sound.

The controls for the Wren V5 run on a vertical strip on the end of the speaker

The Wren V5 is 15.56cm H x 10.79cm W x 42,23cm L and weighs a hefty 2.99 kg. You can purchase the Wren V5 in the configuration that best suits you online at the Canadian Wren store. Shipping is free and the Wren V5 comes with a three-year warranty, which is unprecedented in my view. These folks stand behind their product and I like that.

They even make allowances for you changing your mind during the three-year warranty period. This blows me away actually. Say you buy a Wren V5AP for your iPhone and then you decide to switch to an Android phone. If it’s within the three-year warranty period, the folks at Wren will switch your V5AP for a V5PF (Play-Fi) for $99.

I love the full sound this speaker puts out, but the design is what sets it apart I think. It’s elegant, modern and stunning with the wood veneer and the metallic grille nicely sets of the rich wood.

The Wren V5 comes with a remote control

There are controls for volume up and down, power, and a source button for selecting various inputs (W-Fi, USB or Aux on my version) on the vertical control panel. There’s also a remote provided, but I honestly hardly ever used the remote because I controlled the volume from my iPhone for the most part.

The sound sets the Wren V5 apart from a lot of the other speakers I’ve tested. It’s rich, full, bright and clear and whether I listened to classical, rock, folk, country or any other genre of music I was impressed with the quality of the sound and the power of the V5. It’ll provide enough volume to easily fill a fairly large room and even when the sound is turned down, you still hear the fullness of the music you’re playing.

Set up is straightforward – I first set my test version up to play through my computer, then later with my iPhone, and it took only a few minutes to accomplish the setup and I was listening to music.

Perfect for either home or office, the Wren V5 is a beautiful looking speaker that puts out very impressive sound at a decent price. You pay for the quality, but you get an unprecedented warranty and the ability to swap if you make a change in your type of phone.

PROS: Beautiful cabinet; great sound; decent price; three options for the type of device you want to buy; high quality.

CONS: 30-pin connector for iOS devices means you need to purchase a separate adapter to connect to anything using lightning adapters – it’d be nice to have a cable with a lightning adapter included as well; you need to buy online.

TO SUM IT UP: This Wren V5AP is a beauty. Great sound, great looks and at a decent price makes this a speaker I’m happy to recommend. If you’re looking for a speaker to put on the credenza in your office, or on the bookshelf in your home, you should take a look at the Wren V5 – you’ll be impressed – I sure was.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/the-wren-v5-plays-beautiful-music/feed0The Wren Soundsystems V5 Sound SystemmurhillThe Wren V5 is a beautiful piece of furniture that happens to be a great speaker systemThe Wren V5 comes in bamboo or rosewood real wood finishesThe controls for the Wren V5 run on a vertical strip on the end of the speakerThe Wren V5 comes with a remote controlFlappy Bird is the ultimate mobile game ripoffhttp://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-the-ultimate-mobile-game-ripoff
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-the-ultimate-mobile-game-ripoff#commentsThu, 06 Feb 2014 18:57:01 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=393504]]>Flappy Bird, that horrible mobile game the entire world seems to be playing right now, is actually a rip off of the Helicopter Game’s main gameplay mechanic.

Normally, this would be acceptable because video games often borrow features from other games; it’s the nature of the industry. In the case of Flappy Bird though, the game is almost a complete ripoff of a 2011 iOS game called Piou Piou vs. Cactus. It also heavily borrows its sound effects from the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Check out the two images below and try to argue that Flappy Bird didn’t copy Piou Piou vs. Cactus; it just isn’t possible.

Piou Piou looks almost exactly like Flappy Bird.

Feel accomplished, you’ve made it through one of many repetitive pipe gaps.

What’s amusing is even though Flappy Bird is an obvious clone of Piou Piou vs. Cactus, there are already about 13 Flappy Bird clones on the market: Flappy Penguin, Floppy Bird, Flappy Angry Bird, Flappy Bird – Fly Bunny and Flappy Bird Platinum (and this is only a few).

As Flappy Bird becomes increasingly popular, more copies are sure to follow. When it comes to mobile game clones, it’s really just a horrible game of human centipede, especially on the unmoderated Google Play marketplace.

With Apple heavily policing and approving every single app that lands on the iOS app store, it’s more difficult for blatant clones of popular titles to fall through the cracks.

There’s a whole dark segment of the mobile game development market focused completely on ripping off popular video game ideas. Below is an awesome ad looking for a developer to create a Flappy Bird clone.

This add is rather amusing, especially its emphasis on, “smooth and good physics.”

The best part of this ad is surely where is says the game needs to have, “smooth and good physics.” Below is yet another example of the shady mobile game copying industry.

My budget is a $50 gift card for FutureShop.

Even one of Piou Piou’s developers noticed how much of a ripoff Flappy Bird actually is but the tweet has since been deleted.

According to a recent interview with The Verge, Dong Nguyen, Flappy Bird’s developer, is raking in an average of $50,000 a day. If the game continues to be this popular, that means he could make $18 million in just one year, all from creating a game that’s almost completely unoriginal.

I hate Flappy Bird and still contend that it’s one of the worst games I’ve ever played in my entire life. Interestingly, Dong Nguyen recently tweeted that he plans to remove Flappy Bird from app stores because, “he cannot take this anymore.” The game has since been pulled from app stores.

I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/flappy-bird-is-the-ultimate-mobile-game-ripoff/feed52flappy birdpatrickorourkePiou Piouflappy birdflappy bird ripoffflappy birdflappy whaleflappywingsSomeone created a real-life playable Flappy Bird gamehttp://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/someone-created-a-real-life-playable-flappy-bird-game
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/someone-created-a-real-life-playable-flappy-bird-game#commentsWed, 19 Feb 2014 23:22:43 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=399703]]>Just when you thought the insane Flappy Bird craze was starting to die out and it was safe to go back on the internet, someone went and created a real-life version of the popular mobile game, all contained within a fragile looking cardboard box.

The contraption was created by Fawn Qui during a weekend hackathon and consists of an Arduino, two servo motors, a reed switch and a variety of different magnets. Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software electronics.

While I hate Flappy Bird, this project is actually kind of cool (and much more original than Flappy Bird).

Many believe this was just a publicity stunt to build up anticipation and demand for his next inevitable game. Of course, now that Flappy Bird is gone, parodies and knock offs of a title that was already arguably the most successful ripoff of all time have started to pop up on app stores. You could either play the below games, or buy an iPhone with Flappy Bird already installed on it for the low price of a few thousand dollars.

So don’t worry, there are still ways to get your Flappy Bird fix.

5. Fall Out Bird is a bizarre marketing stunt

Fall Out Bird is a Flappy Bird clone featuring rock band Fall Out Boy as characters. Yes, you read that correctly.

The game is nearly identical to Flappy Bird, but features the pixelated virtual head of each band member as a playable avatar. Also, instead of dodging pipes, you’re avoiding guitars.

The band’s bassist, Pete Wentz, told Mashable, “Every once in a awhile I feel like a game comes along, and it’s a cultural touchstone. This game is made out of love for the original.”

Basically, the game is just a glorified marketing tool. It worked though, because I included it in this list.

4. Clumsy Bird is basically Flappy Bird without the 8-bit graphics

Clumsy Bird is just a nicer looking version of Flappy Bird.

Clumsy Bird kind of looks like a combination between Flappy Bird and Angry Birds. Its graphics are a little more polished and don’t have the same 8-bit feel as Flappy Bird.

It’s also a little easier than Flappy Bird and seems to have a loose story line, just like Angry Birds.

It seems the game’s developer has found a way to “borrow” from both Flappy Bird and Angry Birds. Now that’s talent.

3. Happy Poo Flap is a game where you control flying feces

How could you resist a game about a flying piece of feces.

It might sound hard to believe, but Happy Poo Flap is actually about a flying piece of poop.

It’s also less of a clone than any other game in this list and is actually an entire franchise centered around a piece of poop with a smiling face. The game’s developer also released Happy Poo Jump, a knockoff of the popular game Doodle Jump.

In this game, the Happy Poo flies over rectangular hills. Yes, this really is a game. Check out this link to play a game featuring a flying piece of poop on your Android phone.

2. First Person Flappy is actually kind of awesome

Have you ever wondered what it was like to see the world from the Flappy Bird’s perspective? Well this game answers that question.

First Person Flappy is played from a first-person perspective and gives the player the disorienting challenge of navigating over pipes, just like in the mobile game.

Apparently the game is also somehow more difficult than the original Flappy Bird.

It seems Flappy Bird’s insane popularity – it’s at the top of both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s iOS app store and is reportedly raking in an average of $50,000 a day – is just too much for the game’s creator to handle.

According to Nguyen removing the game has nothing to do with legal related issues and instead is because people are “overusing it.”

It is not anything related to legal issues. I just cannot keep it anymore.

It seems a silly to throw away what probably amounts to more than $50,000 a day in revenue at this point, but if it means I no longer have to see my friends constantly post their high scores, this is a good thing.

Flappy Bird actually received an update a few days ago, adding different coloured birds, a night theme and revamped green warp pipes and UI features. Strangely the ability to share scores has also been removed.

No, that game on the right isn’t Flappy Bird, it’s an almost identical looking game Flappy Bird ripped off.

Yesterday, the last remaining app, Blockchain, was taken down. It’s been in the app store for two years and has received over 100,000 downloads. Blockchain recently wrote a scathing post on its blog about the whole issue, criticising Apple for removing any app that allows users to trade bitcoins.

It seems Google’s Android operating system has quickly become the go-to home for bitcoin users. Google has yet to make any effort to remove bitcoin related applications from its Google Play app store.

Adam Soltys, co-founder of a bitcoin co-operative in Vancouver, swaps Canadian currency for bitcoins using the new bitcoin ATM installed at the Waves coffee shop in the city’s downtown on October 29, 2013.

“These actions by Apple once again demonstrate the anticompetitive and capricious nature of the App Store policies that are clearly focused on preserving Apple’s monopoly on payments rather than based on any consideration of the needs and desires of their users,” writes Blockchain in its recent blog post.

While Apple doesn’t have a proprietary payment system right now, the tech giant is rumoured to be developing one. Apps like Blockcoin threaten the ability of large corporation’s control over payment systems, so this is probably why Apple has recently been so vigilant when it comes to removing anything cryptocurrency related from their iOS store.

Other Bitcoin related apps like Coinbase and CoinJar were also recently removed from the app store. According to a post on CoinJar’s blog, Apple told them they’re concerned over legal issues surrounding bitcoin trading. CoinJar hopes to make its way back to the iOS app store when apple has a more clear view of bitcoins’ place in the regulatory landscape.

Apps focused on monitoring bitcoins and other various cryptocurrencies still remain on the app store. It seems Apple is only concerned about using apps that allow users to transfer bitcoins and pay for goods and service with the cryptocurrency.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/apple-removes-all-bitcoin-related-apps-from-the-app-store/feed1BitcoinspatrickorourkeBitcoin machineThe MMA Crossfire 2013 holiday gift guidehttp://o.canada.com/sports/the-mma-crossfire-2013-holiday-gift-guide
http://o.canada.com/sports/the-mma-crossfire-2013-holiday-gift-guide#commentsMon, 02 Dec 2013 21:30:05 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=360658]]>As 2013 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the year and indulge a little on the holiday season.

Perfect for the one who takes them for the team at the gym. Rejuvenating bubble jets provide a soothing foot massage and the spinning pedicure centre has three attachments to restore vitality to your feet.

Hard Time and Party Time along with the recently released Prison Time chronicle author Shaun Attwood’s former life as Arizona high-roller ecstasy drug kingpin in Arizona, serving about 6 years in America’s toughest jail. We’ve interviewed him and we have the books. It’s simply an amazing voyage through his life. A great gift for those who want first-hand real life experiences.

This is for the quintessential boxing and combat sports fan. Former Tristar gym owner Alexandre Choko traveled the world to interview 55 of the greatest boxers of all-time. Great care was taken to complement the interviews with rare photographs, bound into one big beautiful coffee-table style book. We have the book, and yes, Vince McMahon and Triple H have their copies too.

“You’d be surprised how much you can learn when you make it in your profession to stand in an enclosed cage with another man, with the intention of defeating him… by strangulation, knockout, submission….. It’s the history of the world compressed into a series of five minute rounds.”

Whether you’re hitting the streets or the gym, don’t compromise your style by sporting the Run: Speed Tight. Made with breathable, silky Power Luxtreme, these pants come in a variety of colors and prints to take you through the holidays.

Organic and peanut-free cookies available in three tasty varieties –Animal Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Maple Crème Cookies. Contain no artificial colours or flavours. Kenai Andrews and the Postmedia newsroom gave these and the Maple Creme cookies two thumbs up.

This blush brush features a professional quality brush with natural and synthetic hairs and a double reinforced ferrule to prevent movement around handle. MMA Crossfire had a chance to try this within our network and the most consistent feedback we received was confirmation and surprise that it is indeed pro quality.

Argan Oil Moisturizer is a light, yet luxurious oil that moisturizes and protects the skin, hair, nails and cuticles. The moisturizer is rich in vitamins A and E, omega fatty acids and natural antioxidants that protect, nourish and moisturize. Argan oil is natural and imported from Morocco.

And there you have it. Happy Holidays from us at MMA Crossfire to all of you!

]]>http://o.canada.com/sports/the-mma-crossfire-2013-holiday-gift-guide/feed10Crossfire_orangemmacrossfireMMA CrossfireMiPow_2600M_High_ResNok_Lum1020_Yel_34L_BkVt_HSamsung Note 3Pebble Smart WatchSony The Artisan Collection.Homedics JetspaCosmopolitan-buggy-in-turquoise-blue-by-Mountain-Buggy-2Courtesy Conair.PARTY TIME_coverThe Future of Boxing. Alexandre Choko.Urijah FaberPound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial ArtsOakleyOakleyCourtesy Lululemon.Courtesy Lululemon.Courtesy Lululemon.Courtesy Lululemon.Courtesy Soffe.Be. RexallBe. RexallKIT Blush BrushBe.better Argan Oil Body WashBe.Mad Catz’s android-based console is set to launch Dec. 10http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/mad-catzs-android-based-console-is-set-to-launch-dec-10
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/mad-catzs-android-based-console-is-set-to-launch-dec-10#respondTue, 08 Oct 2013 21:20:45 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=325588]]>I wanted the Ouya to succeed and I still think the device has a lot of potential, but it’s basically a failure at this point. My Ouya sits in front of my television collecting dust and I haven’t even thought about turning it on in months, even as just a streaming box.

Mad Catz doesn’t seem to be discouraged by the Ouya’s troubles and has announced that their pricey $249.99 Mojo Android-based console will be released on Dec. 10, just in time for the holidays.

Mad Catz sees its console as a high-end alternative to other Android-based consoles launched earlier this year like the GameStick.

Check out the Mojo’s specifications below:

Nvidia Tegra 4 T40S 1.8 GHz processor

2 GB RAM

16 GB internal storage

HDMI out

Bluetooth

microSD slot with support for SDXC cards up to 128 GB

Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

What makes the Mojo different is Mad Catz has allowed it to be compatible with existing Android games that support third-party controllers. While there are a few Android games that support the use of controllers, the list isn’t very long. Polygon thinks that the console has a relatively high price because Mad Catz doesn’t have a dedicated digital marketplace for the Mojo, forcing the company to offset the cost of manufacturing the Mojo in a more traditional way.

The study, conducted by research firm comScore, also shows that Apple’s iOS platform holds the same user base, staying steady at 35 per cent. Microsoft’s WindowsPhone percentage also didn’t fluctuate and is still at 2 per cent. BlackBerry dropped one percent and is at 19 per cent now. Nokia’s Symbian operating system and other more obscure mobile operating systems, have a 1 per cent market share

72 per cent of Canadians own smartphones and Canada’s wireless subscriber rate grew 6 per cent. This means there are now 23 million wireless subscribers in Canada.

According to MobileSyrup, this number could be a bit off because the CWTA (Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association) has reported that Canada’s wireless subscriber number is over 27 million.

According to The Verge and the Wall Street Journal, the Amazon-made smartphone would be available free of charge, possibly even without some sort of carrier contract. It’s expected to use a financial model that’s very similar to Amazon’s current video and book subscription service, Amazon Prime.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire Tablets are also sold at a low-cost and then the profits are made up through book, app, music and video sales. It makes sense that amazon would attempt to adopt the same platform if it intends to launch a smartphone. This would be difficult though, because Amazon would have to develop some sort of special deal with both manufacturers and carriers to make a pricing model like this happen.

In Canada, we’ve seen lower end smartphones being free on contract for many years now. If Amazon hopes to gain any kind of foothold in the crowded smartphone market, a free price point is a must.

It’s expected if this Amazon smartphone ever becomes a reality, that it would use a “forked” version of Google’s mobile operating system. It wouldn’t have access to Google’s Play store and would only be compatible with a very small amount of apps.

]]>http://o.canada.com/uncategorized/amazon-might-sell-its-rumoured-smartphone-for-free/feed0amazon smartphonepatrickorourkeThis app wakes you up at your subway stophttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/this-app-wakes-you-up-at-your-subway-stop
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/this-app-wakes-you-up-at-your-subway-stop#respondFri, 06 Sep 2013 19:42:37 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=306605]]>I’ve dozed off on the subway on more than one occasion, but thankfully, I always regained conciousness before missing my subway stop.

This is where MetroNap, an app created by New York-based developer Tobias Domhan, comes into play. Users put the name of their starting station and destination into the app. The app then uses your smartphone’s accelerometer to figure out when the train is moving and when it’s stopped.

Then, a few seconds before your stop, an alarm will sound or the phone will vibrate, waking you up and ensuring you don’t end up eight stops away from your actual destination.

In theory this concept sounds great. Gizmodo brings up an important issue with the app though. How can it tell the difference between being stopped at a station or being stuck between stops because of some sort of subway issue? It probably can’t.
So as long as you don’t run into any transit delays, MetroNap seems like a great idea.

Right now, the app is only available for Android users and only works in New York City. Hopefully at some point Domhan decides to expand MetroNap to other major city’s transit lines.

Yesterday, Android announced that the latest version of its mobile operating system will be called KitKat. Google has developed a strange strategic marketing partnership with Nestle that’s set to promote both products, the KitKat chocolate bar and Android’s new 4.4 KitKat operating system.

The commercial (check it out below) shows off a minimalist looking KitKat bar while chief “breaks” officer, Chris Catlin, gushes over how great the chocolate bar looks.

“Every corner, every edge, every finger of every bar has been carefully considered and crafted to create a beautifully immersive and multi-sensory experience,” says Catlin in the video.

The video is amusing, but some of its lines are cringe worthy. It’s also always entertaining to see big tech companies throw jabs at one another.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/internet/new-kitkat-commercial-pokes-fun-at-apple/feed0KitKatpatrickorourkeNew version of Android set to be called KitKathttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-version-of-android-set-to-be-called-kitkat
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-version-of-android-set-to-be-called-kitkat#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2013 17:19:13 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=304460]]>Today, Google revealed that the new version of its popular Android mobile operating system is set to be called KitKat.

Previously, many mobile industry observers thought that the name for Android’s latest OS iteration would be Key Lime Pie (since Google licensed the dessert’s name a few months ago).

According to MobilySyrup, this new version of Android is 4.4 and not 5.0 like many people initially assumed. Other than this small piece of information, not much is known about Android’s new, upcoming operating system.

Since 2009, Google has named each iteration of Android’s operating system after a different dessert: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.

Naming their newest operating system after the popular KitKat chocolate bar, seems to be linked to a Google/Nestle marketing partnership. According to a recent press release, more than 50 million specially branded Android KitKat bars we’ll be available.

While the partnership is a little cheesy and ridiculous, if you think about it, it actually kind of makes sense.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/new-version-of-android-set-to-be-called-kitkat/feed3Android KitKatpatrickorourkeYouTube’s new app lets users watch videos while browsinghttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/youtubes-new-app-lets-users-watch-videos-while-browsing
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/youtubes-new-app-lets-users-watch-videos-while-browsing#commentsMon, 26 Aug 2013 20:54:32 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=300875]]>YouTube’s new version of its iOS and Android app is great for users who rely on the service as one of their main sources of watching online videos on the go.

This new multitasking system lets users swipe videos into the bottom right corner of their mobile device’s screen, allowing you to keep browsing for new content while the video continues playing. YouTube multitasking works flawlessly on my Nexus 4 and iPad Mini and makes queuing up the next video I want to watch, significantly easier.

Playlists have also been introduced to YouTube’s mobile app and so has a new Cast button that allows the app to be used with Google’s cost-effective Chromecast dongle in an easier way. Unfortunately a Canadian release for Chromecast still hasn’t been announced. Queuing up multiple videos to play on the fly is useful for someone like me who watches multiple videos a day in succession.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/youtubes-new-app-lets-users-watch-videos-while-browsing/feed2YouTubepatrickorourkeAndroid launches new way to locate lost or stolen smartphoneshttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/android-launches-new-way-to-locate-lost-or-stolen-smartphones
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/android-launches-new-way-to-locate-lost-or-stolen-smartphones#respondFri, 02 Aug 2013 18:31:15 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=290801]]>Do you lose your smartphone between your couch’s cushions all the time? Maybe your dog likes to hide it under your bed or your children keep borrowing your Nexus 4 to play Minecraft?

Well, Google will soon have your back.

In a recent blog post, Google has announced that the new Android Device Manager will help users locate their misplaced smartphone with ease. Through device manager, users can make their misplaced phone ring at maximum volume, even if it’s in silent mode.

Also, if you accidentally leave your phone at a restaurant or you think it’s been stolen, device manager will show you were it’s located on real time map. Also, in the event that you can’t locate your phone, device manager now lets users erase all data remotely.

This new feature will be available later this month on all Android devices running Android 2.2 or above. A separate app that allows users to “easily find and manage your device” is also being developed.

Android’s device manager is actually very similar to Apple’s phone finding iCloud-based system. Some Android phone manufacturers, HTC for instance, already offer brand specific built-in software that has similar capabilities.

Vine allows users to create a six second looping .Gif-like video. It’s been available on iOS for a number of months now and has finally landed on Android devices. It works identically to the iOS version of Vine except it has the ability to zoom, search, mentions and hashtags.

After testing out Vine last night for an hour or so it seems like the app runs decently on Android (I own a Nexus 4). It did crash on one occasion and also had difficulty loading Vines at one point.

Perhaps most importantly, I can now create intricate stop motion videos of all my action figures like a giant man child.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/vine-launches-on-android-smartphones/feed0VinepatrickorourkeHTC One will get stock Android experiencehttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/htc-one-will-get-stock-android-experience
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/htc-one-will-get-stock-android-experience#respondThu, 30 May 2013 18:58:19 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=256952]]>HTC announced today that their popular HTC One Android smartphone will be released in a “stock” Android model.

Android users now have another awesome vanilla Android option to choose from. Unfortunately, it won’t be as reasonably priced as the Nexus 4. The HTC One is set to sell for $599 on June 26th through Google’s Play Store. The Galaxy S4 will also be sold in a vanilla Android state at some point in the near future.

The HTC One features an all-metal design, a rarity when it comes to Android phones. In contrast, the popular Nexus 4 features a relatively cheap feeling plastic body.

According to cnet, Google has also pledged to update the “HTC One Nexus User Experience” frequently. Updates are another issue with Google’s popular Android OS. Unless you own a Galaxy or a Nexus branded smartphone, usually you’re stuck with an older version of Android. Updates are first released by Google then manufacturers get a hold of them and only release them for certain smartphones.

Certain carriers (like Rogers and Bell) also only let subscribers download the latest version of Android’s OS on certain devices. Owning a Nexus branded unlocked Android smartphone is a great way to circumvent this issue.

One of many users’ major issues with the Android platform is the bloat-ware and sometimes useless features smartphone manufacturers add to the operating system. With a stock Android operating system, users get a much cleaner and faster experience.

Last year, Google said they had 400 million activations. In July 2012, iOS had 410 million activations.

This information was released during Googles I/O keynote this morning.

“People are adopting these devices at an amazing pace,” said Google’s senior vice-president of Chrome and Android Sundar Pichai. He also stated that 48 billion apps have been installed on Android devices and that 2.5 billion have been installed only over the last month.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/google-activates-900-million-android-devices/feed1Google Developers Event Held In San FranciscopatrickorourkeHyperJuice Plug should be called HyperJuice Lifesaver Plughttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/hyperjuice-plug-should-be-called-hyperjuice-lifesaver-plug
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/hyperjuice-plug-should-be-called-hyperjuice-lifesaver-plug#respondFri, 03 May 2013 15:48:16 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=238181]]>

HyperJuice Plug in Jewel

I’ve been an iPhone and iPad user for years and like a lot of users who use their smartphones all the time, I usually either run the battery down every day or come very close to it. Ditto with my iPad, so I’ve been trying to find a single solution to keep both of the device ticking right along so I never have a low battery problem.

I’ve been trying our one of the HyperJuice Plug batteries for a few weeks and I’ve decided that HyperJuice has misnamed the device – instead of the HyperJuice Plug it should be called the HyperJuice Lifesaver Plug. The HyperJuice Plug comes in two sizes, depending on a user’s needs – the small one is rated at 10,400mAh, and the larger one at 15,600mAh.

For the sake of this article I’m only talking about iOS devices because that’s what I use. Both HyperJuice Plus will work with any USB device and works quite well to charge Android phones and tablets .

You might think that a battery to keep your iOS device charged is a luxury accessory, but I know one real estate agent who would beg to differ. Like many business people, this Realtor is a very heavy iPhone and iPad user.

He uses his iPhone as his business contact, so the thing is constantly vibrating with calls, texts and E-mails. He uses a dongle on his iPad to gain access to properties with a real estate lockbox on them and to keep track of his calendar and all the properties listed as well as the documents necessary to make an doffer or receive an offer.

His phone and iPad are constantly running out of power and he carries the Apple adapter with him everywhere so he can charge in his car or wherever he is.

HyperJuice Plug in Jewel recharges by plugging into an outlet

This HyperJuice Plug would get rid of all the worries and looking for plug-ins that he has to do. It is the perfect tool for someone like him, who’s such a heavy user.

The 10,400mAh HyperJuice Plug will extend the use of an iPad 2 by up to 15 hours and the newer iPads with Retinal Display up to 9 hours. The iPhone can be recharged 7X with this device, and users can plug two iPads, or two iPhones or one of each into the HyperJuice Plug at the same time.

The 15,600mAh version will extend the iPad 2 by 23 hours, newer iPads by up to 13 hours and it’ll let users recharge their iPhone up to 11X. The HyperJuice Plug features a total of 15W power that’s intelligently distributed to either of the two USB plugs on the device in order to deliver the maximum power to each device regardless of which port they’re plugged into.

The built-in short circuit and temperature protection system ensures that your devices won’t be overcharged or damages. The aluminum housing comes in six colours for those who want to match their ensemble – pink, green, blue, silver, black and gold. Both have retractable wall plugs so users can recharge them simply by plugging them directly into a wall socket.

The 10,400mAh version of the HyperJuice Plug is 123mm H x 88mm W x 20mm D and weighs 360 grams, it’s larger 15,600mAh cousin is 155mmH x 88mm W x 20mm D and weighs 453.5 grams, Both are easily small enough to stick in a jacket pocket or briefcase.

This is a great device and one that I’ll be sure to take with me everywhere I go. It’s small, lightweight and is already part of the technology I pack in my backpack whenever I travel.

CONS: Only way to get one is via HyperJuice’s website – not a big deal!

TO SUM IT UP: Busy business people owe it to themselves to look at the HyperJuice Plug – it can bake your wireless experience a lot better and make you a much more productive worker. Salespeople especially would benefit from the HyperJuice Plug. If your phone is crucial to your business then you should check this device out – it’s well worth the investment.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/hyperjuice-plug-should-be-called-hyperjuice-lifesaver-plug/feed0HyperJuice Plug charges two USB devices at oncemurhillHyperJuice Plug in JewelHyperJuice Plug in Jewel recharges by plugging into an outletHyperJuice Plug in Jewel recharges by plugging into an outletSmartphoneshttp://o.canada.com/discussions/phone-wars
http://o.canada.com/discussions/phone-wars#respondTue, 26 Jun 2012 21:48:11 +0000http://staging.wp.canada.com/?post_type=discussion&p=3378]]>Smartphones are an integral part of our every day lives, but in Canada, we seem to get the short end of the stick in terms of how much way pay for our cellphone bills.]]>http://o.canada.com/discussions/phone-wars/feed0Both Gatwech, Noah MeloccaropatrickorourkeHands-on with MOGA’s Android gaming controller at GDC 2013http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/hands-on-with-mogas-android-gaming-controller-at-gdc-2013
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/hands-on-with-mogas-android-gaming-controller-at-gdc-2013#commentsSat, 30 Mar 2013 17:59:14 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=223039]]>One of the major problems that has always held iOS and Android-based mobile gaming back is touch screens.

A touchscreen’s accuracy simply can’t compare to that of actual tactile buttons. Also, mobile ports of input heavy games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, are very difficult to play with touch screen controls. Sure, it works, but I always find myself wishing I could just plug a controller into my iPad Mini and Nexus 4. After all, it would make the game much more fun to play because that’s how it was originally designed.

The controller comes in two distinct designs, a compact Pocket Model, designed for portability and everyday on-the-go use, and a Pro design, that’s a little more bulky and resembles an Xbox 360 controller.

The MOGA pro controller feels almost exactly the same as the Xbox 360’s controller.

Both versions of the controller feel well made and solid but the Pro version tends to feel a little more like a traditional console gamepad. Each controller has a clamp that allows the user to lock their smartphone or tablet to the top of it. The Pro version’s clamp is more expandable than the pocket model of the MOGA and it’s also slightly more comfortable.

The Pocket model also requires two AAA batteries to operate where as the Pro version has a built in battery that supposedly lasts up to 15 hours.

Users simply connect their Android smartphone or tablet through Bluetooth and the MOGA instantly works with all compatible games. The MOGA also works with Windows 8-based devices.

It supports popular Android titles like Dead Trigger, Modern Combat 4 and the Conduit HD and surprisingly, even big named publishers like Rockstar and Sega have thrown their support behind the MOGA.

When it comes to devices like this, developer support is important and that’s exactly what MOGA was trying to gain at GDC this year. The more Android titles that support use of the controller (it currently works with over 70 games) the more viable it will become as a device that’s actually worth purchasing.

At GDC I played Sonic with the MOGA and was very impressed with how responsive the controller was.

Also, the idea of using a controller like the MOGA with an emulators on an Android device is very exciting. I went hands-on at GDC with the first Sonic title for the Sega Genesis running on an emulator and both the game and the controller performed flawlessly.

Using an actual gamepad rather than a touch screen, especially when it comes to emulated games, adds a level of control and authenticity when playing old school games that just isn’t possible on a touch screen. Unfortunately right now the MOGA doesn’t support iOS devices.

The MOGA is making its way to popular electronics stores like Bestbuy in the U.S on April 15th. In Canada, the MOGA unfortunately isn’t available at retailers. You can currently buy the MOGA Pocket online on sale on Amazon.com for $33 (it regularly sells for 49.99). The Pro MOGA controller, once it’s launched, is set to sell for $49.99.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/hands-on-with-mogas-android-gaming-controller-at-gdc-2013/feed6MOGApatrickorourkeMOGA proMOGA SonicCanada.com is now on Google Currentshttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/canada-com-is-now-on-google-currents
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/canada-com-is-now-on-google-currents#respondMon, 18 Mar 2013 16:38:53 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=216526]]>There is now a new way to read all the great content we’re producing on Canada.com – and it works on planes and trains – but don’t do engage us will driving your automobile.

Canada.com is now on Google Currents – it’s a great swipable magazine format optimized for your iPad, iPhone, or Android devices. You can browse, read and share your favourite content.

It also works when you’re offline – because we wouldn’t want you to miss a moment.

The New York Times has called Google Currents one of the best 10 apps available on Android. We’re happy to be there.

To join us, download Google Currents to your mobile device, then visit this link on the browser on your device:

NEW YORK — Samsung Electronics is ratcheting up its rivalry with Apple (AAPL) with its new Galaxy S4 smartphone, which has a larger, sharper screen than its predecessor, the best-selling S3.

Samsung trumpeted the much-anticipated phone’s arrival Thursday at an event accompanied by a live orchestra while an audience of thousands watched the theatrics unfold on a four-level stage. Summoning up a touch of Broadway, Samsung employed 17 actors to demonstrate the new phone’s features in a series of scripted vignettes.

The Galaxy S4, which crams a 5-inch screen into body slightly smaller than the S3’s, will go sale in the U.S. sometime between the end of April and the end of June.

In the U.S., it will be sold by all four national carriers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA — as well as by smaller ones US Cellular and Cricket. All told, Samsung plans to offer the Galaxy 4S through 327 carriers in 155 countries, giving it a wider reach than Apple’s iPhone 5.

Samsung didn’t say what the phone will cost, but it can be expected to start at $200 with a two-year contract in the U.S. That’s comparable to the iPhone 5.

JK Shin, the executive in charge of Samsung’s mobile communications division, promised the money would be well spent for a “life companion” that will “improve the way most people live every day.”

That bold promise set the tone for the kind of flashy presentation associated with the showmanship of Apple, the company that Samsung has been trying to upstage. Apple contends Samsung has been trying to do it by stealing its ideas — an allegation has triggered bitter courtroom battles around the world.

In the last two years, Samsung has emerged as Apple’s main competitor in the high-end smartphone market. At the same time, it has sold enough inexpensive low-end phones to edge out Nokia as the world’s largest maker of phones.

The Galaxy line has been Samsung’s chief weapon in the smartphone fight, and it has succeeded in making it a recognizable brand while competitors like Taiwan’s HTC and Korean rival LG have stumbled. Samsung has sold 100 million Galaxy S phones since they first came out in 2010. That’s still well below the 268 million iPhones Apple has sold in the same period, but Samsung’s sales rate is catching up.

Research firm Strategy Analytics said the Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S as the world’s best-selling smartphone for the first time in the third quarter of last year, as Apple fans were holding off for the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 took back the crown in the fourth quarter.

One way Samsung and other makers of Android phone have been one-upping Apple is by increasing the screen size. Every successive generation of the Galaxy line has been bigger than the one before. The S3 sported a screen that measures 4.8 inches on the diagonal, already substantially larger than the iPhone 5’s 4-inch screen. The S4’s screen is 56 percent larger than the iPhone’s.

In a Wednesday interview, Apple’s Phil Schiller declined to discuss whether Apple is considering enlarging the screen on the next model of the iPhone, which is expected to be released later this year. He said Apple remains confident that the iPhone 5 is the most useful and elegant smartphone available, hailing it as “the most beautiful consumer electronics device ever created.”

Samsung believes the S4 will set the new standard.

Apart from the larger screen and upgraded processor, the S4 has a battery that’s 20 percent larger than that of the S3. Samsung didn’t say if that translates into a longer battery life — the added capacity might be gobbled up by the bigger screen or other internal changes.

The S4 comes with a built-in infra-red diode, so it can control an entertainment center as a universal remote. This is a feature that has showed up in Android tablets before.

The S4 comes with several new technologies intended to help users interact with the phone. For instance, the screen now senses fingers hovering just above the screen, and some applications react. The Mail application shows the first few lines of an email when a finger hovers above it in the list, and the Gallery application shows an expanded thumbnail.

Users can control some other applications by making gestures in the air above the phone. In the browser, you can command the screen to scroll up by swiping from top to bottom a few inches from the phone.

The Camera application can now use both the front and rear cameras simultaneously, inserting a small picture of the user even as he’s capturing the scene in front of him.

When several S4s are in close proximity, they can link up to play the same music, simultaneously — perfect for headphone dance parties.

The Galaxy 4S also will include a tool that enables users to create a dividing line so part of the phone is devoted exclusively to work while the other part is filled with personal information and photos. The feature is similar to a function on the latest BlackBerry — an indication that Samsung is going after other smartphone makers besides Apple with its latest model.

Related articles

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/samsung-galaxy-s4-built-to-battle-the-iphone/feed1theassociatedpresscanadaA Samsung employee displays the Samsung Galaxy S IV. Samsung, the world's largest handset maker, revealed their successor to the Galaxy S III. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)Are Android consoles the future of video games?http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/are-android-consoles-the-future-of-video-games
http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/are-android-consoles-the-future-of-video-games#commentsThu, 07 Feb 2013 23:25:55 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=195930]]>If CES was any indication, there seems to be a new trend in the video game industry – portable (or at least compact) Android-based gaming devices.

Sure you could just game away on your fancy Android phone, but what’s the fun in that? As a gaming platform, Android is still in its infancy. But as a relatively open operating system ripe with opportunities for simple pick-up-and-play games, it quite possibly could be the platform of the future.

In terms of gaming, these cheap devices also open up the ability to play video games on your television. Previously, living room gaming has been restricted to big budget consoles like the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3.

Say hello to the PlayStation Vita’s ugly cousin

The Wikipad is definitely kind of ugly.

First there’s the Wikipad, an often-delayed gaming contraption now has a cheaper 7-inch screen (it was originally 10.1 inches). It features a 1280 x 800 resolution screen and a powerful Tegra 3 chip. It’s set to retail for $249 and in some ways, looks like the PlayStation Vita’s slightly uglier cousin.

Is the Ouya the next big gaming console?

The Ouya could potentially be the future of gaming.

In the U.S., Amazon, Best Buy and Target will actually be selling this pint sized Android console in their stores. This could let the device potentially reach a much wider audience than most Android gaming consoles in production right now.

The Ouya was originally announced on Kickstarter with a $950,000 pledge limit. It raised an astounding $8,596,474 from 63,416 contributors. Pre-orders have exceeded 68,000. It has an extremely reasonable $99 price tag. It also features a Tegra 3 processor, 1 GB of ram, 8 GB of flash storage and runs on Android 4.0. It even has an HDMI that supports 1080p resolutions on your television.

The only downside of this Android gaming device is the fact that it hooks up to a television and doesn’t have its own screen. On the bright side, this probably helped with its low price point. It also has its own dedicated controller as well.

One of the main features that makes the Ouya different from the slew of other Android-based gaming devices out there is the fact that AAA game designers like Square Enix and 23 other major publishers have confirmed their support for it. Oh, and it is also set to support gaming streaming service OnLive.

Project SHIELD is cool but expensive

Project Shield is impressive, but will probably have a very expensive price point.

Nividia’s Project shield was the talk of this year’s CES but the handheld gaming device’s price point will definitely be a barrier for most gamers. It features a powerful Tegra 4 processor that’s capable of playing regular video game console quality games (at least this generation’s). It also has a built in 5-inch, 720p multitouch display and runs on Android 4.1.

It also features the ability to stream games to the device from your home PC as long as you’re using a specific Nividia graphics card. The biggest issue with Project Shield will most likely be its price tag. A console as feature rich as this will definitely cost a significant amount of money.

Also, it kind of looks like a black Xbox 360 controller with a GameBoy Advance SP strapped to the top of it.

Project SHIELD doesn’t have a release date yet.

The GameStick is a very affordable Android console

The GameStick plugs directly into TVs through HDMI.

The GameStick is designed in the same vein as the Ouya, only it doesn’t have as much hype behind it. It’s compact and plugs directly into televisions through HDMI. It features an ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. It also has a microSD card slot, WiFi, HDMI and Bluetooth capabilities.

Like the Ouya, it operates in an open programming environment. It prides itself on its simplicity and the console actually plugs directly into the controller to increase its portability. It doesn’t have a built in screen like the Wikipad or Project Shield.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/are-android-consoles-the-future-of-video-games/feed1OuyapatrickorourkeWikipadOuyaProject ShieldGameStick Most federal government mobile users in Canada prefer the BlackBerryhttp://o.canada.com/business/most-federal-government-mobile-users-in-canada-prefer-the-blackberry
http://o.canada.com/business/most-federal-government-mobile-users-in-canada-prefer-the-blackberry#commentsWed, 30 Jan 2013 19:30:56 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=190801]]>OTTAWA—Regardless of how the launch of the BlackBerry 10 goes, the BlackBerry still has one loyal customer in Canada: the federal government.

There is no policy requiring the government to purchase a specific mobile device, but the BlackBerry’s relatively secure network and long-time use on Parliament Hill makes it difficult for politicians and officials to let their devices out of sight. According to figures obtained by Postmedia News, in a one-year span the number of government-issued BlackBerrys increased by 14.5 per cent, to almost 90,000 in August 2012 from the 78,000 in September 2011.

“In Canada, we have an issue with productivity and increasing our outcomes at the workplace and certainly here on (Parliament) Hill we want to get as much done in a day as we possibly can,” said Gary Goodyear, the minister of state for science and technology. “We kind of work 150 miles an hour up here, switching from meetings to meetings that are all different subject matters. So from what I can see, this is going to be a great product and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.”

The BlackBerry is also overwhelmingly the device of choice for the Privy Council Office. For instance, one month of BlackBerry usage by PCO-issued devices can cost about $21,500, according to figures released to Postmedia News. The department redacted the number of devices it hands out to workers, including those in the Prime Minister’s Office, saying that releasing the information could effect BlackBerry’s financial performance.

Cabinet ministers, though, were more forthcoming about their mobile usage. Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan, Transport Minister Denis Lebel, and International Trade Minister Ed Fast all have BlackBerrys. Environment Minister Peter Kent has two: one for his ministerial work, the other for his constituency work. At Labour Minister Lisa Raitt‘s office, it’s BlackBerry phones all around — for her and her staff.

The odd minister out is Heritage Minister James Moore, who told reporters Wednesday he was an iPhone guy. (Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has an iPhone, but that’s his personal device. The BlackBerry is what he uses for work.)

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said he has been an avid BlackBerry user for more than a decade, but expressed concern that the new model doesn’t allow users to remove batteries. He said he keeps a charged-up spare on hand to keep the device working through long days.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, though, likely won’t have a new BlackBerry pressed into his palm anytime soon. Harper uses an iPad to read and research, and his office confirmed Wednesday that the prime minister still doesn’t use a mobile device, a practice he started in 2006 when he became prime minister.

The loyalty to BlackBerry — aside from the salesmanship seen Wednesday by politicians lauding the launch of the BlackBerry 10 — ends with the phone. For reading briefing books and other government documents, it is Apple’s iPad that is the choice of cabinet ministers and the most senior public service advisors to the government who are housed in the Privy Council Office, the central bureaucracy that advises and aids the prime minister and cabinet.

The price to use the BlackBerry is, on average, cheaper than the iPhone and Android, according to figures released to Postmedia News under the access-to-information law. From September 2011 to August 2012, the average BlackBerry cost taxpayers about $25 per month, while iPhones and Androids cost on average $32 per month, according to the figures from Shared Services Canada.

In all, Shared Services Canada said that BlackBerry use domestically costs the government on average $2.16 million per month.

]]>http://o.canada.com/business/most-federal-government-mobile-users-in-canada-prefer-the-blackberry/feed3RIM Blackberry LaunchjordanpresWhat’s on your iPhone or Android homescreen to start 2013?http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/whats-on-your-iphone-or-android-homescreen-to-start-2013
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/whats-on-your-iphone-or-android-homescreen-to-start-2013#commentsMon, 31 Dec 2012 18:58:37 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=175568]]>With a new year, and the explosion of mobile phone usage – both Apple and Google operating systems, iOS and Android – I want to ask this simple question: What are you starting 2013 with on your first screen or two of your mobile phone?

For me, there are the very utilitarian items or apps: Messages for texts, my calendar, a camera, the website where I work Canada.com – actually just a link to our homepage, Facebook, Twitter, a browser in Chrome, the phone and my email.

That’s it. I’m not using all the spots.

When you get to my second screen, then you see Google Maps, TheScore, Google Currents, Evernote, Buzzfeed, YouTube, WordPress, HootSuite, and some apps I’m testing out like Circa, undrip, Pocket, Spun. Plus I also have Chartbeat, an app I use to monitor traffic on our site.

So, that’s me. What about you? What do you have on your homescreen? Is there one app among the more than 1 million Apple-approved apps that people have to have? There are more than 650,000 apps for Apple and for Android. What are we missing? Do you have a hidden gem (that isn’t paying your salary)?

Hit the comments and let us know what I – and our readers – should add to our homescreens for 2013.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/whats-on-your-iphone-or-android-homescreen-to-start-2013/feed3iPhone homescreenrgranatstein4 apps you need to downloadhttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/4-apps-you-need-to-download
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/4-apps-you-need-to-download#commentsTue, 25 Dec 2012 06:10:31 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=173027]]>So, you got a tablet or mobile phone for Christmas. Whether it’s an iPad, iPhone or Android device, the question now is, what do you do with it besides surf the internet, texting and talking on the phone.

It’s time to download apps that will help your productivity and entertain you. Here’s a collection of must have apps, especially if you’re the lucky recipient of one of Apple’s numerous iPad generations or even the pint sized iPad Mini.

1. Evernote – iOS, Android, PC

Evernote syncs across multiple platforms making it one of the best note taking apps around.

Evernote is one of the best note taking applications around. A note can be a small piece of text, website, photograph, voice memo or even a hand written note. They can also be sorted into folders and synced across multiple platforms.

For instance, I use Evernote with my iPad Mini, Android-based HTC Desire HD and on my work and personal laptop. Any changes I make to notes, depending on my sync settings, appear across all of these platforms. So, if I decide I need to add tasty cheese strings to my grocery list while playing games on my iPad, a quick click of a button and a few swipes lets me add the item to my grocery note. Then, while at the store, I can view this list on my phone simply by opening the app.

Evernote is free on the iOS and Google Play app stores. The dedicated web-based Evernote app is also free.

2. Instapaper – iOS, PC, Kindle

Instapaper is one of the most useful iOS apps around.

Instapaper is a simple but very useful application. It allows users to save online articles for later offline reading. If you’re the type of person who uses your iPad or iPhone on the subway, or don’t have a data plan, this app is perfect for you. Simply select a bunch of articles you want to review later, pass the URL into Instapaper, and read away during your commute.

Unfortunately, Instapaper is a little pricey at $4.99, especially when compared to most other apps out there. It’s also only available on iOS right now and there doesn’t seem to be any plans to bring the app to other platforms like Android, Blackberry or Windows Phone 8. There is a web-based app that syncs with its iOS application and a Kindle version though.

Thankfully, Bad Piggies has very little to do with Rovios extremely popular Angry Birds series in terms of game mechanics. In Bad Piggies, the player must create a vehicle, using various objects, and try to get their pig (yes the same bad pigs from Angry Birds), to the finish line. Graphically, Bad Piggies looks great, especially on retina iPad and it’s easy to pick up and play but very difficult to master. This is the perfect formula for any mobile game.

4. Hootsuite – iOS, Android, PC

I prefer Tweetdeck, but Hootsuite is a really solid alternative.

On iOS, Hootsuite is really the only viable Twitter aggregator option around right now. If you’re a Android Twitter fanatic, there’s always Tweetdeck. With Hootsuite, you’re able to sync multiple social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google+, making it extremely easy to post and view messages and websites across multiple social media platforms.

The app looks the best on the iPad but the iOS and Android versions are also solid. Also, because it syncs across multiple platforms, your account can be used across multiple devices.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/4-apps-you-need-to-download/feed3Apple Hopes For Strong Christmas SeasonpatrickorourkeEvernoteInstapaperHootsuiteGrowth of Android, iPhone in government operations could be ‘nightmare’ for securityhttp://o.canada.com/news/growth-of-android-iphone-in-government-operations-could-be-nightmare-for-security
http://o.canada.com/news/growth-of-android-iphone-in-government-operations-could-be-nightmare-for-security#commentsFri, 21 Dec 2012 17:19:01 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=170944]]>OTTAWA—The federal government spends about $40 million annually on mobile devices across Canada, according to newly released figure, as more business is conducted on smartphones, raising new security risks for officials to fend off.

The BlackBerry was the device of choice for the almost two-thirds of federal government mobile users in Canada, with iPhones and Android devices replacing cellphones between September 2011 and August 2012, according to data released to Postmedia News under access-to-information law.

The rise in smartphone usage, especially the Android, comes as security experts predict that mobile could, in 2013, become the next security concern as hackers migrate to mobile, focusing their attacks on gaining access to devices that carry personal, corporate and sensitive government information.

“The nightmare for the government is that these devices are designed for gathering and sharing information promiscuously,” said Anil Somayaji from Carleton University’s Computer Security Lab. “They do a lot of stuff automatically. Bringing smartphones into a classified environment is insane, utterly insane.”

Developers have taken security into account when designing devices, usually compartmentalizing apps, unlike a desktop, where one application can be used to access an entire hard drive, Somayaji said. Smartphone makers are hardening the security on their devices, Somayaji said, but there’s no way to make a fool-proof security system for any device.

So far, there doesn’t appear to have been security breaches on government mobile devices. Information released to Postmedia News under access-to-information law showed no records of instances of malware being found on government-issued mobile devices over the past two years, although one expert suggested that trusted apps could have malware-like tendencies, such as sending data about a user back to a source.

“They know much more about you than your regular desktop does,” Somayaji said. “If you care about keeping secrets, they’re inherently not safe. You’re leaking huge amounts of information when you use a smartphone.”

BlackBerry is a fairly secure device because it encrypts data over its servers, even though it piggybacks the information on carriers’ networks, said David Skillicorn, an IT security expert from Queen’s University. Where mobile users run into trouble is when users have to log into someone else’s wireless network to send and receive information and become exposed to any malicious actors using those systems.

Android, Haley said, is currently the “low-hanging fruit” for hackers.

“The reality is today, Android is very open and you can download applications from anywhere,” Haley said. “There’s no reason (for hackers) to leave Android right now.”

BlackBerry remains the dominant device for the federal government, but Android is quickly becoming more popular with its numbers rising by 50 per cent between September 2011 and August 2012.

Of the more than 146,000 government mobile devices in use in August, almost 90,000 were BlackBerry devices, according to Shared Services Canada, or about 61 per cent of all domestically used mobile devices.

The number of BlackBerry users increased between September 2011 and August 2012 to 89,777 from 78,397, a 14.5 per cent increase, while the number of cell phones in use declined 6.4 per cent to 55,432 from 59,244. Replacing those phones were iPhones and Android devices, according to the data released to Postmedia News under the access to information law.

As of August, the most recent numbers released, the federal government had 780 Android users, with about 140 devices being iPhones.

Those are just the numbers domestically and don’t take into account the thousands of devices in use by government officials internationally. The numbers account for about 93 per cent of all devices in use in Canada with a few that may have been acquired under contracts outside of the main ones the government has with Telus, Bell and Rogers.

On average, each cellphone costs the government about $9 per month. The iPhone and Android users cost about $33 per device, and BlackBerry users cost taxpayers about $25 per device.

]]>http://o.canada.com/news/growth-of-android-iphone-in-government-operations-could-be-nightmare-for-security/feed4Canada-RIM-LayoffsjordanpresTech that gives back: Virgin’s RE*Generation phonehttp://o.canada.com/technology/tech-that-gives-back-virgins-regeneration-phone
http://o.canada.com/technology/tech-that-gives-back-virgins-regeneration-phone#respondSat, 15 Dec 2012 22:07:56 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=169150]]>We’re told the holidays are a time for giving. Some of us take this to heart, some of us shrug it off. But we all continue our consuming. When it comes to giving to charity, some of us are cynical. We wonder whether any of our money will end up towards the cause we want it to. Admittedly, I’m one of these people.

So when I heard that Virgin Mobile and Samsung want to raise money for youth homelessness in Canada through the sale of their phones, my guard went up.

I write about consumer technology – a market where people’s voracious appetites for the most frivolous gadgets is only matched by companies caring more about a bottom line and profits than creating a good product. Youth homelessness doesn’t sound like it meshes in that world.

Their pitch is simple: If you buy a Samsung Galaxy Ace II X on Virgin Mobile, $15 per sale will go to Virgin Unite’s RE*Generation – donated to organizations trying to help the 65,000 Canadian young people who don’t have a home.

According to Andrew Bridge, Managing Director of Virgin Mobile Canada, the RE*Generation program is “all about helping a generation help its own.” He says it’s raised a little over 2 million dollars since its inception for various causes that help address at-risk youth challenges in Canada. To date, there have been 4 such offerings of RE*Generation-branded phones, a process Virgin collaborates with their handset partners on. This year, it’s the Galaxy Ace II X.

“We think it’s a great phone because it’s a brand our target [customer] loves,” Bridge says, “We expect it to do great business for us and in turn, raise some great money for the RE*Generation.” The goal is $200,000, the same amount they raised last year.

But where will that money go? With so many steps along the way, there are many possible places for the $15 to divide itself. As far as Virgin Mobile is concerned, the money will get to the organizations they partner with–with absolutely none going to administrative costs.

For the uninitiated, billionaire/philanthropist Richard Branson is the chairman and founder of Virgin. The company’s non-profit wing, Virgin Unite, is in charge of RE*Generation.

“One of the differences you’ll see from Virgin Unite versus other organizations,” Bridge told me, “is that Richard personally pays for all of the overhead to drive activity for programs. So every penny that’s raised in the front lines goes right to the charities.”

As impressive as that sounds, following the money meant my cynicism now pointed squarely at the organizations that were helping out homeless youth. So I spoke with one of the company’s flagship partners that they’ve worked with for years: Eva’s Initiatives.

It was only a few minutes in my conversation with Maria Crawford, executive director of Eva’s Initiatives, to wash that cynicism away. Her passion for her job and aversion to cookie-cutter fixes proves this is an organization that genuinely knows how to help homeless youth.

“Our whole focus is on long-term solutions for those youth. (They) come from different places and require different supports to make that transition out of homelessness and back into the community.”

From traditional housing to substance abuse counselling to family reconciliation programs, Eva’s has been helping at-risk and homeless youth since 1994. They’ve been working with Virgin for a while too, and Crawford told me about the work that Richard Branson has personally done with Eva’s.

The question, remains, though: what will they do with my $15?

“It results in funding for direct programs that are working on the ground with these kids to help them get off the streets,” Crawford says. “It’s working to raise awareness, which is even more powerful. Attracting volunteers to the program … right down to things like this month, the holidays — helping youth who are spending the holidays in a shelter as opposed to with family and friends. Making sure they have meals to eat, gifts, some activities — it really does range from macro to micro.”

Even the bitter Grinches among us can rest assured that their money wouldn’t go to Virgin and would be used effectively by an organization like Eva’s – whose successful model for helping youth is also being sought internationally.

The only real flaw in “technology that gives back” is the technology. Bridge called the Samsung Galaxy Ace II X a mid-tier phone. At $200 off-contract, he’s right. But that’s the problem: It’s a middling phone.

On paper, It’s a 4-inch Android device, running 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) underneath Samsung’s “TouchWiz” skin. The screen isn’t mind-blowing, at 480 by 800 pixels. A 5MP camera, 1 GHz single-core processor, and only 2 GB of usable onboard storage (expandable through a microSD slot) make this a phone that can do most everything – but won’t do it quickly or better than more modern smartphones.

It doesn’t load up apps very quickly, it can chug when overloaded (playing Angry Birds Star Wars started well but got a little laggy) and its scrolling isn’t very smooth. I was impressed by its loud speaker–and TouchWiz made full use of it with its ridiculous nature sounds. The body of the phone is also quite sturdy–to the point where I actually liked its weight and feel. I didn’t like how eerily it looks like an iPhone 4.

But let me be clear, it’s not trying to be a iPhone or its much older brother, the Galaxy S3. It’s also not as behind the times as a flip-phone or BlackBerry. You get Android’s great selection of apps and, while I rail against Samsung’s interface, it doesn’t restrict functionality. Remember, this phone is $200 off-contract and free if you use Virgin’s SuperTab (both options will still result in $15 being donated).

I would have loved the S3 or the iPhone 5 as the RE*Generation phone, but the decision is part business, part philanthropy. Virgin Mobile Canada (owned by Bell) deals with the prepaid/postpaid market, where customers want less expensive phones and plans.

Virgin’s RE*Generation phone this year may not be spectacular, but it does the job. More importantly, the cause is incredibly solid. If it isn’t the phone for you, remember, you can help out in other ways. Virgin Mobile gives its customers the option of adding a dollar to their existing plan that will be donated to RE*Generation. You can also give $5 by texting REGEN to 30333. If you want to give something more substantive, Eva’s is always looking for volunteers. So while technology giving back is the unlikely merger of capitalism and charity–I think there are ways it can work. And it starts with noble intentions.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/tech-that-gives-back-virgins-regeneration-phone/feed0Galaxy Ace II press shotanandramakrishnanGalaxy Ace II press shot frontGalaxy Ace II press shot backGmail has redesigned their iOS and Android apphttp://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/gmail-has-redesigned-their-ios-and-android-app
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/gmail-has-redesigned-their-ios-and-android-app#commentsFri, 07 Dec 2012 18:21:46 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=164517]]>Google seems to be in a redesign mood this week. First it was YouTube and now its the company’s dedicated iOS Gmail application.

The new Gmail design, much like YouTube’s, cleans up the application’s look and simplifies a number of its features. An updated version of both Gmail’s Android and iOS applications were released earlier this week.

The app now supports multiple accounts, has predictive search results while the user is typing and probably most importantly, it now has an infinite scrolling inbox. Users can also reply to Google calendar invites right inside the app and add comments to Google+ posts as well (not that anyone really uses Google+).

Compared to Apple’s native mail client on iOS, the new Gmail client also offers the ability to attach photos or other material directly from the new message screen.

– Resistive touchscreen won’t recognize quick taps
– Interface is slow to do what you want it to
– Battery life isn’t great, will require recharging every couple of trips
– Google Maps does nearly everything better and cleaner
– Updating maps is tedious

Special thanks to Anirudh Thommundram for helping with the video.

]]>http://o.canada.com/technology/review-tomtom-via-1605tm/feed0anandramakrishnanXbox SmartGlass lets you control your console from your smartphonehttp://o.canada.com/technology/xbox-smartglass-controlling-your-console-from-your-smartphone
http://o.canada.com/technology/xbox-smartglass-controlling-your-console-from-your-smartphone#commentsSat, 27 Oct 2012 23:33:51 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=138177]]>The success of Microsoft’s Xbox is undoubtedly because it’s not just a gaming console. My parents can watch a World War 2 documentary on Netflix and my niece can come over and play Fruit Ninja Kinect because the Xbox tries to offer something for everyone.

Enter the latest way it’s integrating our digital lives: SmartGlass. Introduced at this year’s E3 event, Xbox SmartGlass is a way to use your phone or tablet to control and augment what you see on your TV. It just became available for free on Google Play and the Windows Phone store.

Naturally, flawless cooperation in this world is idealism at its finest – and by that I mean SmartGlass has some bold ideas. Watch Game of Thrones on your Xbox and look at your tablet for a map of Westeros. Control your dashboard from your phone, even searching Bing without typing one-letter at a time. Manage your avatar, check your achievements and get an Xbox experience on the go.

I’m particularly proud of my classic South Indian old man avatar.

Of course, some things work and some things don’t. Integration is great, but it leaves a lot of people out and those who are included can be left wanting. Firstly, there’s no iOS version. Right now, it’s only for Windows Phone devices, Windows 8 and Android devices running 4.0 and higher. If you fall into any of those categories, you’re probably in the minority.

For those who can get it, however, there are some valuable features to SmartGlass. When you get the app, you sign in to your Xbox live account and it automatically detects your console. It even gives you helpful videos to show you how to use the app.

It’s smooth and looks like modern Windows style – that ‘Metro’ design that no one is supposed to call ‘Metro’ anymore. It even makes Xbox noises. Also, when not connected to an Xbox, it still works. Swiping between panes will let you search Bing, see your avatar, friends, achievements and messages, access recent Xbox applications and check out new movies or games. Whatever you do within the app always has the ability to “Play on Xbox.” It’s not just finding a game or movie, it’s launching it from your phone onto your Xbox. It’s a lot like Apple’s iTunes and Airplay put together.

Netflix details on the left, an example of the remote on the right.

When connected, you can navigate your console. The remote is 3 big buttons and an area in the centre as a trackpad. Tap once to select things, swipe your fingers to move. It works really well, even on a mobile connection (though WiFi is better). When playing something, such as a movie on Netflix, you can pause, skip or rewind from your phone.

The issue with SmartGlass is that it feels like an “app.” You’re splitting your attention between something you’re using on a screen and another screen. If you close the app, you have to reconnect to the Xbox–so it’s a remote you have to pay attention to. In my short time with it, I wanted to use my controller; which was faster and less likely to lose connection.

Also, it’s an Android app that looks like a Windows Phone app. The design just doesn’t fit, making for small on-screen buttons and menu systems that the user will have to figure out. Oh, and it only works in portrait orientation (at least on my Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean).

I liked the ability to type on my Xbox from my phone, but let’s make something clear: I don’t search the internet on my Xbox, let alone use Internet Explorer. I tried to go to YouTube, Gmail and just search news using SmartGlass, and the only thing I liked about web browsing was the dedicated scroll bar while using IE. Signing into things was a mess of switching between remote and typing, and the lack of Flash made it quite difficult to visit certain websites. Also, they tout pinch to zoom, but who needs to pinch to zoom on a TV screen that’s, in most cases, bigger than any computer you use?

SmartGlass also needs more applications that make use of it. Like most of Microsoft’s strategies these days, it seems to be a Field of Dreams situation, where they want developers to come once they build the infrastructure. Unfortunately though, that doesn’t bode well for users right now.

While it could be better, I do see its usefulness. I started off by saying that the Xbox is being used by people who don’t only play games. My dad doesn’t know how to work an Xbox controller, but he handles his Nexus S quite well. My cousins don’t have cable, but they use their phones to control their home theatre system hooked up to their Xbox. SmartGlass could be very useful to them.

So if you think it will make your Xbox experience better or easier, check it out.